“
He uprose erect with breast and front, e’en as if Hell he had in great despite.
NarratorInferno · Canto X.32
Circle 6: Heresy
Canto 10 of 34 — 29% descent
In the Sixth Circle, heretics lie in open, burning tombs. As Dante passes, Farinata degli Uberti — the great Ghibelline warrior who defeated Dante’s Guelf party — rises up from his tomb from the waist, contemptuous of Hell itself. A bitter political exchange follows across party lines, even here.
Why This Matters
The Ghibelline leader Farinata, proud even in Hell — a portrait of aristocratic defiance against damnation itself.
pridedefianceheresy
Farinata degli Uberti
Gustave Doré, 1857 · Public Domain