Cianghella

Profile

In the fifteenth canto of Paradise, Cacciaguida, recalling the ancient virtues of Florentine families, contrasts the morality of the women of the past with the corruption of the present, explicitly citing the name of Cianghella as an example of a brazen woman. According to the authorized notes to the canto, Cianghella was the daughter of Arrigo della Tosa and the wife of an Alidosi of Imola, described by ancient sources as a woman of dishonest conduct and brazen speech, so much so that she is also recalled by Boccaccio in the Corbaccio for her dissoluteness. The name of Cianghella, mentioned in the same trio as Lapo Salterello, is thus adduced by Dante as an emblematic case of depraved feminine behavior, in striking contrast with the honesty of the women of the Florentine families of former times.