Sardinia

Description

In the verse of Inferno XXIX 48, Dante places Sardinia within a sequence that accumulates places known for corruption or for the presence of evils, likening it to the Maremma. The notes to canto XXIII, although referring specifically to inner Barbagia, clarify the cultural framework in which Dante situates the island: Sardinia, and in particular its inhabitants of Mauritanian origin, was proverbially regarded as a land of lax customs, with women described as seminude because of the heat and local custom, so much so that the poet could employ it as a negative term of comparison for the women of Florence. Dante does not, however, enter into the details of the island's internal geography: Sardinia functions rather as a symbolic place of a morally negative reputation, evoked in a few syllables to intensify the accusation.