Gioacchino da Fiore

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In Paradiso XII, v. 140, Dante names him as «il calavrese abate Giovacchino», placing him in the second crown of the wise that closes the choir opened by Bonaventure. The passage is introduced by the commentary on the verse, which defines him as an abbot and links him to the Calabrian milieu. The introductory note to Canto XII explains that the second crown, «sealed by Gioacchino da Fiore», mirrors the one opened by Saint Thomas, thus completing the symmetrical structure of the entire canto. The commentary further specifies that alongside the great theology in the second crown, history, logic, and grammar are also represented, that is, the first art of the Trivium and the Quadrivium, so as to bring together different genres and levels of wisdom. Dante therefore places him among the spirits who praise Saint Dominic, alongside Bonaventure, Anselm of Aosta, Rabanus Maurus, and Aelius Donatus, in a garland of scholars united by their pursuit of divine wisdom rather than of the sciences in service of temporal interests.