I visited Italy as part of a family trip through Western Europe, which included cities in Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, and Austria. In Italy, we visited Milan, Rome and Venice. Italy stands out for its architecture, but also its people with a distinct attitude. The most intriguing city was Venice, a grand city built on the water, with no roads—only boats navigating waterways.

Later, I learned that Italy was not always a unified country. The survivors of the Trojan War arrived at Florence, and there were constant fights between them and the locals. Even the Roman Empire did not last for 500 years. As for Venice, a city built on 118 islands, it was founded in the 5^th century AD by refugees fleeing the Roman Empire and Germanic invasions. Over time, it developed into a significant maritime and trading power, becoming a key player in European and Mediterranean commerce. Of the countries I visited, Italy remained with me as a land of brilliance and arrogance.

The Divine Comedy, written by Dante Alighieri, a 13th-century Florentine, is an epic poem comprising 14,233 lines. It is divided into three equal parts: Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise). The poem narrates Dante’s journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. It begins saying:

Midway along the journey of our life
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
For I had strayed from the straight path. (Inferno, Canto I, lines 1-3)

The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice, Dante’s ideal woman, guides him through Heaven.

When you read Dante, you feel like you are watching a film. He creates scenes using metaphors and explains complex insights through dialogues between the characters. It is a wholesome teaching on Christian theology, with Hell, Purgatory and Heaven as allegorical representations of sin, penance and divine grace, respectively.

There are multiple circular steps, like stepped rings, for rising through repentance or falling into sin. The punishments in each circle are not arbitrary; they are designed to reflect the nature of the sin. For example, those who indulged in lust are tormented by a storm, as their passions were uncontrolled. Similarly, those who committed violence against others are punished with violence. Dante also depicts Pope Boniface VIII and Pope Nicholas III in Hell.

I am in love with this book for its craftsmanship. How can anyone create an entire imaginary realm and then put it into words so that the reader also reaches there? The scene I loved most is when Dante finds a crowd outside the first circle of Hell. These people are not allowed inside as they were neither good nor bad, but lacked the faith to be saved. Called Limbo, this is not a place of punishment; it’s also not a place of eternal joy. It’s a state of perpetual longing for what they cannot have. He meets Socrates, Aristotle and Julius Caesar here.

My favourite lines are:

“The only answer that I give to you is doing it,” he said.
“A just request is to be met in silence, by the act.” (Inferno, canto XXIV, lines 77-78)

Taking practical actions makes your life relevant. Mere words are not enough when responding to a just request. When a request is undeniably fair, the most effective way to respond is to take the necessary steps to meet the request. Not doing this will take you to hell, make no mistake about it.