IDS 101: Dante’s Journey

Part One: The Inferno (1216-1308) explores the turbulent background of medieval Florence from 1216 to Dante's birth in 1265, and chronicles Dante’s childhood, education and early career as a poet and politician -- culminating in his exile in 1302, and his decision to write The Divine Comedy -- plunging from there into the mysterious world of the poem itself, and Dante’s descent into the inferno.

Interweaving soaring scenes from the second and third parts of The Divine Comedy with key events of Dante’s biography, Part Two chronicles the poet’s journey up the mountain of Purgatory and the heavenly spheres of Paradise -- then goes on to explore the impact and afterlife of the poet’s great masterpiece, from his death in 1321 down to the present.

The story of Dante, the Italian poet who penned The Divine Comedy. Ranging across science, politics, art, theology, philosophy, love and hatred, this series creates a vivid picture of the medieval mind with the aid of location footage, contemporary writings and stories.

Explores the astonishing life and work of the 14th century Italian poet Dante. He wrote in everyday Italian and was the first writer to explore the life of the individual in any depth. His ideas have filtered down through the ages and have greatly influenced humanity at large.

The first Italian feature film ever made, L'Inferno was also the first international blockbuster, based loosely on Dante's journey through hell as influenced by the illustrative style of Gustave Doré. (Silent Film)

Dante is a hard-living hoodie-clad slacker who will take you on a gritty tour of Hell that bears a disturbing resemblance to our own world. In an attempt to save his lost soul, Dante is led through the seven rings of Hell.