Guido del Duca

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In Canto XIV of Purgatorio, Guido del Duca introduces himself by his own name, asserting his identity and introducing the lament for the liberal and courteous lords of the past. The notes to the same canto describe him as a Romagnol nobleman about whom very little information is available: he almost certainly belonged to the noble Onesti family of Ravenna, was of the Ghibelline faction, and was related to the Traversari and Mainardi families, who are recalled in the subsequent verses. He served as judge in various communes of Romagna and lived for many years in Bertinoro, a place celebrated for the liberality of its lords. The last historical notice concerning him dates to 1249. Placed in Purgatorio alongside Rinieri, one a Ghibelline and the other a Guelph, he represents the Romagnol nobility whose decline from its ancient courtesy is described, in parallel to the portrait of the corrupted Tuscan cities.