Florence

Ophelia by Sir John Everett Millais (c. 1851-2)

“Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than with honesty?” (3.1)

The Souls of Paolo and Francesca (detail) by Gustave Dore (c.1863)

CONDEMNED TO THE second circle of Hell, Francesca da Rimini can spend eternity with her lover, Paolo Malatesta.

Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (detail) by Joshua Reynolds (c. 1775-6)

Made famous by the novel of the same title and the accompanying film The Duchess (2008), Georgiana’s story has captivated me above many others, though I do not believe her story is entirely unique to women of her era.

“Dost thou stand there already, Boniface?”

-Canto XIX (The Divine Comedy)

Nicholas III mistakes Dante for Pope Boniface VIII