Originally Posted by
JBI
And, a very important reason that seems left out, Virgil was Italian (geographically), which from what I understand, formed a closeness, especially with the political parallels between Virgil's time's climate (which are believed by many scholars to be heavily alluded to at the end of the Aeneid, especially with the infamous killing of Turnus at the end), and the ones surrounding Dante. The political connection between them then, is close, and the role of poet brings them closer than any other poet, even Homer.