Dante conveys the speed of his ascent to the first sphere (Moon) (Paradiso 2) by saying it took no longer than it takes an arrow "to st...

In Rome, there is a church called the Church of the Suffering Souls (address: Parrocchia Sacro Cuore in Prati-Lungotevere Prati 12-Roma, whi...

Canto 21, 7-14: And behold -- even as Luke records for us that Christ, new risen from his burial cave, appeared to two along his way -- a sh...

From a page about Dante's Statius : Dante's aesthetic of poetry involves a theological presence as the prime motivator from whic...

Some thoughts of Augustine of Hippo on sin and, of particular interest for readers of the Purgatorio, on the Pauline understanding of hope:...

From an interesting article on divination among the ancient Romans: Thus, the Romans looked upon astrology and the whole prophetic art of th...

Oddly, the site where the Dore illustrations were obtained seems to be offline. Click to enlarge.

Just before the pilgrim has his second dream, he offers a time indication via a reference to geomancy - the ancient art of using figures to...

One of the more unusual pairings of Biblical and Classical exemplars comes in Canto 18, where we first are reminded of how Mary, after learn...

This is Gustave Dore's version of the encounter with Marco Lombardo in Canto 16. Numerous scenes from the Commedia as reimagined by Do...