Historical

Vanni Fucci

A thief from Pistoia encountered by Dante in the bolgia of the thieves; he declares himself impious and insolent, calls himself a 'beast,' and hurls against God a prophecy of disaster for the Whites.

Profile

Vanni Fucci appears in Canto XXIV of the Inferno: in response to Dante's question, he violently asserts that he himself is the one, pronouncing 'I am Vanni Fucci,' and declares that he has led a 'bestial life,' qualifying himself as a beast. The notes document that he was one of those responsible for the theft at the Chapel of San Iacopo in which, according to a Pistoiese codex of the time, he was involved together with the notary Vanni della Monna and Vanni Mironne; the last historical notices about him date to 1295. Dante portrays him as impious and insolent, without concealing the shame of the condition in which he is caught; the character is placed in the infernal bolgia reserved for thieves, where the damned are mingled with serpents.

In the text

Linked verses

1 verses
CanticaCantoVersoTestoOpen verse
InfernoCanto XXIV125sì come a mul ch’i’ fui; son Vanni FucciOpen verse