The map includes spots in Florence, or in its immediate surroundings, that are either mentioned in the Dante's Divine Comedy, or that resonate with Dantesque environments and topics such as wilderness, wood, gardens, water, natural/urban barriers.

Dante's cenotaph is the City of Florence's first official monument to the poet.  The cenotaph was paid for by a public funding initiative signed by some of the leading players on the Florentine cultural scene at the time. The artist chosen to carve the cenotaph was Stefano Ricci, one of the most important Tuscan sculptors of his day who had already worked in Santa Croce but had never previously turned his hand to something so monumental. The cenotaph had a difficult gestation, the sculptor preparing numerous designs before finally achieving a definitive version and then taking over ten years to produce it. It was inaugurated on 24 March 1830. Dante, dressed in classical garb and crowned with a laurel wreath, is seated deep in thought high above the centre of the composition, his arm resting on the Divine Comedy. Two female figures accompany the sarcophagus. On the left, Italy stands erect sporting a crown of towers and walls, while on the right weeping Poetry drapes herself over the tomb.

The Baptistery was a building quite familiar, and dear, to Dante. It is also part of the Inferno scenery. In canto nineteenth, where the sin of simony (the practice of selling or buying spiritual offices, clergy promotions, consecrated objects) is punished, Dante runs into souls wedged head-first in the very floor of Hell. Their feet and legs protrude from holes in the rock; holes, Dante tells the readers, which resemble the fonts inside San Giovanni Baptistery in Florence—“il mio bel San Giovanni” (my handsome San Giovanni), as Dante addresses it, moved by the sudden memory of the Florence monument. Apparently, those fonts where also the site where Dante accomplished a quasi-heroic mission (here in Hell, and nowhere else, diligently recorded), when he broke one of them in the attempt to save someone from drowning. The reference to the autobiographical fact is brandished by Dante as a proof of his own integrity, juxtaposed to the mischievous conduct of the damned souls: They [the openings in the rock] did not seem to me less broad or more/than those that in my handsome San Giovanni/were made to serve as basins for baptizing;/and one of these, not many years ago,/I broke for someone who was drowning in it:/and let this be my seal to set men straight.’ Inferno 19, 16-21.

The Badia was founded in 978 by the Marchioness of Tuscany, and assigned to the Cassinese Benedictines. It is also a place crucially connected to the Dante and his literary work. In the Summer of 1373, a good number of Florentine citizens presented a petition to the Government of the People and Commonwealth in Florence, requesting to appoint a lecturer who could expound in public the lines of Dante’s Comedy. As the petition reads, these Florentines were “desirous of being instructed in the book of Dante, wherefrom, both to the shunning of vice, and to the acquisition of virtue, no less than in ornaments of eloquence, even the unlearned may receive instruction.”  Only seventy-one years before, Dante had been accused of bribery, and condemned first to pay a fine (which Dante refused to do, claiming it would have meant pleading guilty) then to be permanently exiled from Florence. The petition was accepted. The appointed lecturer was another renown Tuscan author, Giovanni Boccaccio, who, on October 23, 1373, right in this church, opened his series of readings of Dante’s Comedy. The petition give specific indication as to the calendar of the lectures, scheduled “on consecutive days not being holidays, and in consecutive lectures, as is customary in these cases.” Boccaccio fell ill, and he interrupted his lectures at the canto seventeenth of the Inferno. Following Boccaccio’s suggestion, the title became Divine Comedy (Dante and his contemporaries would refer to it simply as Comedy).

The Boboli Gardens, nestled behind the grand Pitti Palace, stand as an epitome of Renaissance landscaping mastery. 
Originally designed for the Medici family by renowned architects and landscapers, the gardens sprawl over 45.000 m², offering a harmonious blend of formal and natural elements.
It resonates deeply with the themes of nature, beauty, and power found in Dante's Divine Comedy. Designed in the 16th century, it encompasses a diverse landscape of manicured lawns, ancient sculptures, intricate fountains, and dense forested areas. As I wander through its labyrinthine paths, I can’t help but feel the presence of the wild juxtaposed with the controlled elegance of the garden's design. This duality mirrors Dante’s journey through the wild and untamed landscapes of Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Boboli Gardens, with its natural and urban barriers, serves as a microcosm of the journey of the soul - struggling through obstacles, seeking beauty, and ultimately finding harmony within the bounds of nature and artifice.

The site of Ponte Vecchio—a segmental bridge crossing Florence’s Arno River—is significant to Dante’s Divine Comedy. Taddeo Gaddi completed the “Old Bridge” in 1345, and it is now a bustling tourist attraction full of jewelry, art, and souvenir vendors. However, the bridge’s entrance point marks the spot of Buondelmonte de' Buondelmonti’s murder by the Amidei clan, which incited the fights between Guelfs and Ghibellines. Participants in the Guelfs/Ghibelline conflict (e.g. Mosca dei Lamberti) appear in Dante’s Inferno, where they suffer in hell. The location of Buondelmonti’s death is now marked with a stone inscription from Dante’s Paradiso XVI 140-7. Also, legend says that Dante stood near Ponte Vecchio’s place on the Arno when he first saw Beatrice di Folco, who appears as his dead lover in the Comedy.  

While a bridge connects two separate areas, Ponte Vecchio ironically represents an urban barrier resembling those in Dante’s Divine Comedy. The packed stretch of shoulder-to-shoulder tourists creates a physical divide and buffer between the touristy city center and the quieter Oltrarno district.

Cascine Park emerges as a verdant haven in Florence, offering a fascinating glimpse into the interplay between civilization and wilderness. Originally created as a hunting domain for the Medici family in the 1500s, the park's evolution mirrors the shifting perceptions of wilderness and its relationship with human civilization.

Positioned beyond the confines of Florence's old city walls, the park symbolizes the tension between urbanity and the untamed wilderness, echoing our class's exploration of Dante’s and Medieval ideas of walls, civility, and the encroachment of wilderness onto urban environments.

In its early years under Medici control, Cascine Park remained largely inaccessible to the public, embodying a curated vision of nature where wilderness was tamed, controlled and inaccessible. This privileged access to curated wilderness reflects the cultural constructions of wilderness e seen through the lens of human dominance and manipulation. Rather than a connection to religion, to God, nature exalts human excellence, greed and power.

However, as societal perspectives evolved, so too did Cascine Park. With the dawn of the 19th century, the park underwent a transformation, opening its gates to the public and becoming a symbol of accessible green space within the urban landscape. This shift mirrors broader cultural shifts towards environmental conservation and the recognition of the intrinsic value of wilderness in its untouched state.
Cascine Park stands as a testament to the enduring dialogue between civilization and nature. It offers respite from city life, while also serving as a reminder of our interconnectedness with the natural world

The Baptistery of Florence, located right beside il Duomo or Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is where all Florentines were baptised until 1935 and Dante was no exception. He was baptised on March 26, 1266. It seems that Dante remembered this place with a certain level of fondness as he referred to it as ‘mio bel San Giovanni’ in Inferno XIX, while comparing the pits punishing the popes to the baptistery fonts and bringing out the story of him saving a man by breaking one of which that probably contains the purpose of defending his following condemnation of the pope by showing a righteous profane act. He mentioned the baptistery again in Paradiso XXV when he expressed his wish of returning to Florence and being crowned with laurel in it: ‘I shall return as poet and put on, at my baptismal font, the laurel crown; for there I first found entry to that faith which makes souls welcome unto God, and then, for that faith, Peter garlanded my brow’, which also revealed the significance of the baptistery to Dante as baptising allowed him to enter the path to God. The act of baptism itself also holds importance as it symbolised crucifixion and resurrection and being baptised is almost being symbolically pulled out of hell and sins. Dante the pilgrim received his second baptism in the Garden of Eden where Matilda emerged him into river Lethe and Eunoe to forget past sins and recall good memories, before his ascent to Paradiso.

Although not mentioned in the Comedy or Dante’s other works. I think it is worth pointing out on the map as this is where Dante was condemned and sentenced to exile on March 10th, 1302, for the museum originally served as the highest magistrate of Florence city council, containing judicial offices and detention cells. Although according to Boccacio, the first seven cantos were written before Dante’s exile, the sentence nonetheless marked the beginning of the composition of the Divine Comedy and the parallel between Dante the traveler’s pilgrimage from hell to heaven and the poet’s wandering across the Italian land. It is also the exile that gave Dante a distance from and a fresh perspective into the political turmoil in his city, leading to the formulation of his later view that went beyond the split between Guelf and Ghibelline, expressed in both the Comedy and his more political work like Monarchia. On the other hand, on the walls of the Cappella del Podestà in the museum, there was the first known portrait of Dante by Giotto as part of the fresco in the cappella, done during 1333 and 1337, only a decade after Dante’s death. Here Dante is portrayed among the blessed in paradise, under the light of God, which is exactly the eternal afterlife that Dante envisioned for himself in the Comedy. Opposite to the blessed, there is a painting of Inferno and Satan that echoes Dante’s description of him at the end of Inferno. This work of Giotto suggested Florence’s belated recognition of Dante’s genius and in a way can be viewed as the return Dante never realised in his earthly life.

The Basilica of San Miniato al Monte, situated on one of the highest points overlooking Florence, is a prime example of Romanesque architecture. Constructed from the 11th to the 13th century, its design features a distinctive façade adorned with white and green marble geometric patterns and a notable interior marked by the rigor of its mathematical and symmetrical layout.
Historically, San Miniato al Monte has served both as a religious site and a defensive position during the sieges of Florence. Its strategic location and fortified elements, including the battlements added in 1537, highlight its dual role in the city’s spiritual and military history. The church’s interior, with its extensive use of polychrome marble, mosaics, and the large, raised crypt, showcases the artistry and religious importance of the period.
The basilica's elevated position and serene surroundings reflect the themes of ascension and contemplation—concepts central to Dante’s "Divine Comedy," particularly in the cantos dealing with Purgatory and Paradise. The presence of the martyr St. Miniato’s relics in the crypt underscores themes of martyrdom and redemption, paralleling the spiritual odysseys described by Dante.
San Miniato al Monte's topographical and symbolic positioning bears significant parallels to the mountain of Purgatory in Dante’s "Divine Comedy". The mountain is described as a solitary peak rising to the heavens, isolated from the world, and serving as a place for purification and ascent to Paradise. Additionally, San Miniato, set upon a hill, stands apart from the urban sprawl of Florence, offering a physical representation of isolation and elevation. This separation from the city’s chaos mirrors the pilgrim’s journey upward through the terraces of Purgatory, seeking spiritual purification.
In "Divine Comedy", the mountain of Purgatory is meticulously structured, with each terrace purging a specific sin to prepare souls for their ascension to Paradise. The architectural layout of San Miniato, characterized by its clearly defined geometric and spatial order, reflects this thematic structuring. Each part of the basilica, from the crypt to the nave and choir, serves a distinct purpose, guiding visitors through a spiritual narrative similar to the pilgrims’ progression through Purgatory’s levels.

The Pescaia di Santa Rosa is a point on the Arno, where the river is dammed, making it possible to actually sit below the water level. In order to get there, you must climb over a low stone wall and descend a slope down to the riverbank. Once there, at low tide, you can walk out about halfway across the dam and sit down. While this particular spot is certainly not mentioned in the Commedia, rivers play an important role in the geography of the world which Dante constructs. Florence being, as Calvino would say, Dante’s “implicit city,” every river in the Commedia is in some sense a representation or a reflection of the Arno. 

“The water that you see does not spring from/ a vein that vapor—cold—condensed—restores,/
like rivers that acquire or lose their force;/ it issues from a pure and changeless fountain,/ which by the will of God regains as much/ as, on two sides, it pours and it divides” (Purgatorio 28).

There are few other places—none that I know of along the Arno—where one is able to come into such visceral contact with the Arno river and the immense natural force it represents. Sitting out on the Pescaia di Santa Rosa, you hear the sound of water crashing onto water. You can meet the water on its own terms, at eye level, standing effectively beneath its surface. From this intimate vantage point, we see water doing as it always will in a perfectly arranged cosmos such as Dante’s: water will flow down. And it will do so with so much force, such deep conviction, for it has no other choice.

Mt. Ceceri is a popular wooded mountain for hiking located directly next to Fiesole, with viewpoints for the greater Florence area. While exploring the paths that man has carved through this once wilderness, one can encounter open quarries, caves, and even the spot of the alleged flight of Leonardo da Vinci's machine in 1506. 

“The kindly master said: “My son, the city that bears the name of Dis is drawing near, with its grave citizens, its great battalions.”... But not before we’d ranged in a wide circuit did we approach a place where that shrill pilot shouted: “Get out; the entrance way is here.”

This location is reminiscent of two environments/topics discussed in class. The most obvious is the wilderness. This mountain, once complete wilderness, has been carved out as a place for people to escape from the urban lifestyle that has encroached to the border of this place over the centuries. This leads into the second topic, the border between the natural and urban. The mountain is the closest semblance of true nature within eyeshot of the Florentine urban sprawl. Additionally, with its placement directly next to Fiesole, it is a stark reminder of how these natural borders are not rigid, and never can be as long as humans attempt to claim an ecological dominance over the planet.

The Villa la Pietra Gardens is a living mausoleum of the aesthetic ideals of the past. The Villa’s official website states that the garden (as it is now) was the product of efforts from 1908 to about World War 2. However, the Garden is representative of much more than that. There used to be a walled English garden on the property of which no traces now remain. And, if we were to talk of the “original” garden dated to around the initial completion of the villa of that we don’t have the faintest inkling. Isn't it poignant then that as nature is said to wreak havoc on men that we too rail against it?

There are trees hundreds of years old on the property and the greenhouse which housed the lemon trees (integral to the family’s income) still remains. Yet, what wasn’t too big to change or didn’t provide any monetary value is now gone without a trace. In that sense the garden is reflective of one of the core values explored in the Divine Comedy- man vs. nature (this of course does not exclude himself). It certainly offers  a new perspective of Canto XIII. Would it have been crueler if the people who had committed suicide were flowers? To be vulnerable, and only protected  as long as someone found them beautiful. Trees can endure a lot more and it is no easy feat to get rid of one. It makes one wonder how much of their fate was a blessing or a curse?

The Giardino delle Rose in Florence, designed by architect Giuseppe Poggi in 1865, is more than just a garden. Situated in Oltrarno, this garden extends over one hectare and is home to a collection of approximately 400 different varieties of roses. As I was wandering alone through the streets of Florence, I unexpectedly stumbled into the garden, and was immediately mesmerised. The mosaic of colours created by the roses, the layered design, as well as the breathtaking view of Florence, was simply enchanting. In Paradiso, Dante presents Heaven not just as a realm of general beauty but also as a structured universe where every soul finds its rightful place in a grand cosmic order, which he metaphorically describes as concentric spheres of light. This order finds a reflection in the Giardino delle Rose’s terraced layout and the careful arrangement of its roses, which mimic a sense of ascending beauty as one moves through the garden. Furthermore, Dante’s celestial rose, a key symbol in Paradiso, represents the ultimate union of all the blessed souls, mirroring the divine order. Similarly, the various species of roses in the Giardino delle Rose, each unique yet part of a cohesive whole, is a strong symbol of this unity in diversity. The feelings of contemplation and peace that the garden made me feel strongly resonates with Dante’s experiences in Paradise, where the beauty of Heaven inspires profound spiritual awe. Similarly, visitors to the Giardino delle Rose might find themselves enveloped in an atmosphere that, though earthly, hints at a transcending experience.

The Cimitero della Misericordia is exactly what it sounds like, a cemetery for the deceased members of the Misericordia. It’s one of the oldest cemeteries in Florence, and also goes by the name Cimitero dei Pinti. It’s no longer used to bury the dead because the Misericordia opened another cemetery–Cimitero di Soffiano–but it’s still an important location for the history of the Misericordia. At a first glance, you would not even think there was such an interesting and important place behind the walls that greet you on the street. However, behind those walls is a home for the deceased and a collection of old funeral cars that the Misericordia used to transport the dead. This place echoes what we’ve talked about in class with the significance of walls and how they designate a boundary between that which is civilized and that which is wild. In this case, the cemetery walls separate the dead from the living, which in a way feels reminiscent of old medieval walls as the only real place of safety was inside the walls. Additionally the liminal nature of the Misericordia seems to serve a similar role as Virgil in the Comedy because both guide the dead within a world constructed by Christian values.

Porta San Miniato is one of the historic gates of Florence, Italy. It is located on the southern side of the city and historically served as one of the main entry points into Florence. The gate is named after the nearby San Miniato al Monte, a basilica and abbey situated on a hill overlooking Florence. Porta San Miniato played a significant role in the defense of Florence during medieval times, allowing access to the city for travelers, traders, and armies. It was part of the city's defensive walls and fortifications, which were constructed to protect Florence from external threats. Today, Porta San Miniato remains a well-preserved historical monument, providing a glimpse into Florence's rich architectural and military heritage. It serves as a reminder of the city's medieval past and the importance of its fortifications in shaping its history. This gate and the remaining wall reminded me of our early conversations about wilderness and the symbols that wilderness served during Dante’s times and how that played an important factor in how he wrote the divine comedy.  The wilderness was seen as a lonely and terrifying place to be. A wall served as protection from the unknown environment and kept the civilized and the uncivilized separated. This is an important filter to have when analyzing comedy since Dante describes the wilderness in the comedy as a savage and strenuous environment. Which is a departure from a lot of modern descriptions of wilderness.

This is an inscription placed on the Portinari house which was owned by Folco Portinari, an Italian banker. He was the father of six daughters and most notably Beatrice who many believe to be Dante’s muse in the “Divine Comedy.” 

This inscription is a direct quote from Purgatorio Canto 30: “Over her snow-white veil with olive cinct appeared a lady under a green mantle, vested in colour of the living flame.” During this excerpt, Dante has a vision of Beatrice, dressed in white green and red, symbolizing faith, hope, and charity. She also is wearing a crown with an olive branch, symbolizing peace and wisdom. The last part about a living flame is about God’s presence, and how divine love can be transformative. Her physical appearance is radiating, which is also representative of her superior status to Dante as his guide through Paradise.  

In real life, Beatrice Portinari is believed to have married into another family of bankers, the Bardi. One of the popular theories is that she died quite young due to giving birth to a son. 

In his poem “Vita Nova,” Dante documents that he and Beatrice met as children in 1274 and again in 1283 as teenagers. However, her death in 1290 comes as a terrible shock, inspiring the poet to study philosophy and Latin texts, this depression finally coming to an end with the making of “Vita Nova,” meaning “rebirth.”

In Dante's Inferno, Canto XX of the eighth circle punishes diviners,
astrologers, and false prophets by twisting their heads backwards, reflecting the distortion of their attempts to foresee the future. This grotesque punishment symbolizes the moral and natural consequences of their presumption to divine knowledge, forcing them to always look backward, unable to see what lies ahead. Girolamo Savonarola’s placard in front of the Fontana di Nettuno in Piazza della Signoria, has an incredibly powerful presence among those who know its historical significance, as it marks the spot where he was burned at the stake by the church in 1498. The placard shares thematic ties with the sinners of Canto XX because like the punished souls, Savonarola made bold prophetic claims about divine wrath and the need for moral reform in Florence, positioning himself as a seer of future catastrophes. His prophecies, which he said to be divinely inspired, were seen by many of his contemporaries, and would likely be viewed by Dante, as overreaching human limits, venturing into “divine foresight”. Both depict the risks of human attempts to predict and influence future events and their potential for societal disruption.

Placard of Girolamo Savonarola (Piazza della Signoria)

La Ménagère in Florence is a unique eatery that marries a bistro, restaurant, concept store, and flower shop. It’s made up of a few loosely connected rooms, each with its own distinct, beautiful, garden-esque decor. Freshly cut flowers, floral wallpaper and other highly-detailed design elements truly make you feel like you’re in a lush garden, but surrounded by chatty people, tranquil jazz music, and loads of books! The second floor of La Ménagère provides access to a small courtyard garden, with orange trees and a variety of potted flowers. I chose this location, as it reminds me of our discussion of gardens (and even of forests) in the Divine Comedy: in the final cantos of the Purgatorio, Dante enters the Garden of Eden. Here, he meets Matelda, who explains to Dante that he is in the terrestrial paradise in which humans were originally created (before they disobeyed god and were expelled). While La Ménagère is not a real garden, and a good amount of the floral decor has not been picked from the earth, I would still describe the place as “naturally” beautiful and alive, as Dante describes the Garden of Eden in Purgatorio 28: “divina foresta spessa e viva” (28.2).

Divine Comedy Landscape -- Spring 2024

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