the first part of The Divine Comedy, the greatest
work by the Italian poet,
Dante Alighieri (1265–1321). The Divine Comedy is an
epic recounting an imaginary journey by the author through Inferno (
hell), Purgatorio (
purgatory) and Paradiso (paradise). In the Inferno a description of
hell is
given as being made up of
different levels, including a
level of
fire and one of ice, which descend conically into the earth.
—PDC Volume 4 Approved Glossary