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“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here… ”

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Inscribed above the Gate of Hell,

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these ominous words warn dark [br]tidings for Dante

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as he begins his descent into inferno.

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Yet despite the grim tone,

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this prophecy sets into motion what is [br]perhaps the greatest love story ever told;

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an epic journey that encompasses both [br]the human and the divine.

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But for Dante to reach [br]benevolent salvation,

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he must first find his way through Hell.

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This landscape of torture is the setting [br]for Inferno,

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the first in a three-part narrative poem

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written by Dante Alighieri [br]in the 14th century.

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Casting himself as the protagonist,

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Dante travels deeper and deeper [br]into Hell’s abyss,

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witnessing obscene punishments distinct [br]to each of its nine realms.

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Beginning in Limbo, he travels through the[br]circles of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath,

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Heresy, Violence, and Fraud,

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to the horrific ninth circle of Treachery,

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where sinners are trapped under the [br]watchful eyes of Satan himself.

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The following two parts, Purgatorio and [br]Paradiso, continue Dante’s journey,

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as he scales the Mount of Purgatory

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and ascends the nine celestial [br]spheres of Heaven.

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Written together over 10 years, these[br]three sections comprise the Divine Comedy–

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an allegorical imagining of the soul’s [br]journey towards God.

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But Dante’s Divine Comedy is more than [br]just religious allegory.

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It’s also a witty, scathing commentary on [br]Italian politics.

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A soldier and statesman from Florence, [br]Dante was staunchly faithful to God,

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but often critical of the [br]Roman Catholic Church.

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He particularly disliked its rampant [br]nepotism and practice of simony,

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the buying and selling of religious [br]favours such as pardons from sin.

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Many groups took advantage of these [br]corrupt customs,

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but few supported them as much as the [br]Guelfi Neri, or Black Guelphs.

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This was a political and religious faction

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which sought to expand the pope’s [br]political influence.

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Dante was a member of the Guelfi Bianchi, [br]or White Guelphs–

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who believed Florence needed more [br]freedom from Roman influence.

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As a public representative for the [br]White Guelphs,

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Dante frequently spoke out against [br]the pope’s power,

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until the Black Guelphs leveraged their[br]position

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to exile him from Florence in 1302.

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But rather than silencing him,

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this lifelong exile led to Dante’s [br]greatest critique of all.

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Dishonored and with little hope of return,

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the author freely aired his grievances [br]with the Church and Italian society.

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Writing the Divine Comedy in Italian,

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rather than the traditional Latin of the [br]educated elite,

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Dante ensured the widest possible audience[br]for his biting political commentary.

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In the Inferno’s circle of the Wrathful,

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Dante eagerly witnesses sinners

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tear Black Guelph Filippo [br]Argenti limb from limb.

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In the circle of Fraud,

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Dante converses with a mysterious sinner [br]burning in the circle’s hottest flames.

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He learns that this is Pope Nicholas III,

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who tells Dante that his two successors [br]will take his place when they die—

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all three guilty of simony and corruption.

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Despite the bleak and sometimes violent [br]imagery in Inferno,

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the Divine Comedy is also a love story.

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Though Dante had an arranged marriage

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with the daughter of a powerful [br]Florentine family,

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he had also been unrequitedly in love with[br]another woman since he was nine years old:

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Beatrice Portinari.

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Despite allegedly meeting just twice, [br]she became Dante’s lifelong muse,

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serving as the inspiration and subject for[br]many of his works.

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In fact, it’s Beatrice who launches his [br]intrepid journey into the pits of Hell

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and up the terraces of Mount Purgatory.

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Portrayed as a powerful, heavenly figure,

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she leads Dante through Paradiso’s [br]concentric spheres of Heaven

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until he is finally face-to-face with God.

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In the centuries since its publication,

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the Divine Comedy’s themes of love, sin, [br]and redemption

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have been embraced by numerous artists–

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from Auguste Rodin and Salvador Dali, [br]to Ezra Pound and Neil Gaiman.

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And the poet himself received his own [br]belated, earthly redemption in 2008,

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when the city of Florence finally revoked [br]Dante’s antiquated exile.