Stricca

Profile

In the tenth bolgia of the Inferno, Capocchio — a damned alchemist among the falsifiers —, responding to Dante about the vanity of the Sienese, exclaims: «Tra'mene Stricca / che seppe far le temperate spese» (If XXIX 125-126). The damned soul removes Stricca from the number of "vain" Sienese, praising him for the prudence of his spending in a list with a comic-popular tone of young men who are rich and pleasure-loving. The commentary note on the passage clarifies that Capocchio is compiling a list of Sienese known for squandering money on fatuous and capricious things to impress others, sketching in profile an environment typical of the opulent Tuscan cities of the time, which Dante knew well.