Books that present an alternative view on Dante's life and ideas usually provide some new, interesting, even brilliant insight--- together with some tons of bull's sub-products. Well, Adriano Lanza's Dante all'inferno. I misteri eretici della Commedia [Dante in Hell: Heretical Mysteries in the Divine Comedy] is suprinsingly not so. Not just some scattered details, but the very thesis of the essay, i.e. that Dante was a hidden member of the most dangerous and persecuted late Medieval 'heretic' movement, the neo-gnostic Cathars, fascinates the reader with its consistency, both as far as the text of the poem is concerned, and the documents we have about his life and environment. Among the many thrilling hints, this one stands out: Beatrice as Dante's "heavenly twin," his spiritual Doppelganger; an interpretation key that would make a lot of things clearer.
Adriano Lanza, Dante all'inferno. I misteri eretici della Commedia, Rome: Tre Editori, 1999
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