Grandson of Guido il Vecchio, who initiated the Polenta rule in Ravenna, Guido Novello was born no later than 1275 and died in 1333. After holding public office in various Communes in Emilia, he was podestà of Ravenna from 1316 to 1322. Elected in 1322 as Captain of the People at Bologna, he was definitively removed from office by his cousin Ostasio. During his time on the Ravenna signoria, he pursued a policy of peacemaking, although he was forced into serious conflict with Venice because of disputes over the salt trade. He wrote 6 poems, but owes his fame mainly to his relationship with Dante, who lived in Ravenna from 1318 1320, drawn there also by Guido’s cultural entourage. Guido’s generosity to Dante, who by this time had acquired considerable prestige, allowed him complete freedom to work on Paradiso. In return, Dante undertook occasional chancery duties and ambassadorial missions, among which was his 1321 trip to Venice which, albeit indirectly, caused Dante’s death. The high esteem in which Dante was held while enjoying Guido’s hospitality was shown also in the funeral ceremony accorded by Guido. Dante alludes to him in Eclogue II as the courteous Ravenna host who encouraged him to refuse Giovanni del Virgilio's invitation.

Among the texts attributed to Dante is a letter in the vernacular, dated 30 March 1314 and addressed to Guido da Polenta. In this letter he talks about having to stop reading a speech he had written in Latin for the election of the doge, Giovanni Soranzo, since the Venetians were unable to understand the Latin language. Printed in 1547 by Doni, it is not included in the canon of Dante’s letters because it was considered to be a forgery by Doni himself. The question was re-opened following the discovery of a substantial manuscript history that was independent of Doni’s printing, which at the very least passes any blame for forgery on to the pro-Medici circles in Florence, who were opposed to Venice’s constitutional form and the linguistic proposals of the Venetian Pietro Bembo.