Though hindered by financial problems and the literary and social conformism imposed by the authorities, in Florence Montale published his finest anthology, "Le occasioni" ("Occasions", 1939). From 1933 to 1938 he had a love relationship with Irma Brandeis, a Jewish-American scholar of Dante who occasionally visited Italy for short periods. After falling in love with Brandeis, Montale represented her as a mediatrix figure like Dante's Beatrice. "Le occasioni" contains numerous allusions to Brandeis, here called Clizia (a senhal). Franco Fortini judged Montale's "Ossi di seppia" and "Le occasioni" the high-water mark of 20th century Italian poetry.