Sapia

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Sapia is a spirit whom Dante encounters during the ascent of Purgatory, in the terrace reserved for the sin of envy. In answer to Dante's question, the soul declares her Sienese origin and identifies herself by her name, Sapìa, while acknowledging with ironic detachment that she was not truly wise, as her name would suggest. She then recounts the episode that marked her sin: the sight, from the castle near Monteriggioni, of the defeat of the Sienese at Colle, an event that filled her with an immeasurable joy at the misfortune of others. In an act of pride, she raised her face toward heaven, declaring herself henceforth without fear of God. Having then repented at the moment of death, she obtained that the prayers of the blessed Pier Pettinaio might come to her aid. Sapia herself lucidly condemns her own past conduct.