Manto

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In Canto XX of the Inferno, at verse 55, Virgil names Manto within his account of the origins of Mantua: «Manto fu, che cercò per terre molte» (Manto was she, who wandered through many lands). The context in which the name is placed is that of the fourth ditch of the eighth circle, where the diviners are punished, forced to twist their necks. The mention is inserted into the etiological narration with which the Latin poet explains to Dante the birth of his homeland. No further biographical or genealogical details about the figure are provided in the verses still available. The authorized note supplied does not add direct elements about Manto, not describing her mythological nature, descent, or events. Any information beyond the simple nominal mention in the verse lacks support in the attached authorized sources and is therefore omitted from the entry.