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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 
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 
perhaps the greatest love story ever told;

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an epic journey that encompasses both 
the human and the divine.

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But for Dante to reach 
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 
for Inferno,

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the first in a three-part narrative poem

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written by Dante Alighieri 
in the 14th century.

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Casting himself as the protagonist,

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Dante travels deeper and deeper 
into Hell’s abyss,

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witnessing obscene punishments distinct 
to each of its nine realms.

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Beginning in Limbo, he travels through the
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 
watchful eyes of Satan himself.

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The following two parts, Purgatorio and 
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 
spheres of Heaven.

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

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

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

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

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

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but often critical of the 
Roman Catholic Church.

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He particularly disliked its rampant 
nepotism and practice of simony,

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

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Many groups took advantage of these 
corrupt customs,

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but few supported them as much as the 
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 
political influence.

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

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who believed Florence needed more 
freedom from Roman influence.

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As a public representative for the 
White Guelphs,

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Dante frequently spoke out against 
the pope’s power,

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until the Black Guelphs leveraged their
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 
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 
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 
educated elite,

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Dante ensured the widest possible audience
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 
Argenti limb from limb.

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In the circle of Fraud,

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Dante converses with a mysterious sinner 
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 
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 
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 
Florentine family,

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

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Beatrice Portinari.

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

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

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In fact, it’s Beatrice who launches his 
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 
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, 
and redemption

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have been embraced by numerous artists–

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

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

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