Cornelia

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In the fourth canto of the Inferno Cornelia is listed by Dante among the virtuous figures of republican history, placed in Limbo: the poet mentions her alongside Lucretia, Julia, and Marcia, in an enumeration of women celebrated for their moral virtue. The authorized note to the passage specifies that these figures belong to republican history and are remembered as exempla of righteousness. In the fifteenth canto of the Paradise the name of Cornelia returns in a simile: Cacciaguida recalls her, together with Cincinnatus, as a term of comparison to indicate the extraordinary virtue of the women of Florence of old, such as to equal those ancient models. The note to the passage confirms that Dante makes reference to concrete names, well known to his readers as moral exempla. The two occurrences remain on the level of exemplary reference, without assigning to Cornelia a direct narrative role.