The letter was cited by the Italian copyist Andrea Lancia [it] in 1343 and then by the chronicler Filippo Villani around 1400.

[3] The letter is divided into three parts: A dedication to Cangrande I della Scala, an accessus or introduction, and an exposition of the Divine Comedy.

[3][5][4] Kelly specifically contends that Dante wrote the dedication but the rest of the letter was written by a "Pseudo-Dante".

[6]: 144  John Ciardi, who wrote a translation of the Divine Comedy, argued that the framework provided by the letter is useful regardless of its authenticity.

"[4]: 143 In 2019, researchers for the Italian Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell'Informazione attempted to use machine learning to determine authorship of the Epistle.