Scans of each card can be seen at www.marytcusack.com/maryc/decks/html/Cards/Inferno.html

Dante Alighieri is the most prominent Italian poet and "La Divina Commedia" (the Divine Comedy) is his masterpiece, representing his vision of afterlife, divided in three reigns: Inferno (hell), Purgatorio (purgatory) and Paradiso (heaven). “La Divina Commedia” also marks the beginning of the Italian language, used in an important piece of literature, replacing the official Latin language. The court cards and the aces represent characters that Dante and Virgilio (the Jokers in Inferno - Dite), his guide, meet during the journey, until they find Lucifer (the Joker in Inferno - Cocito).

The red cards show sinner who are damned for passion-related sins, while the black cards portray sinners who used their intelligence to betray and deceive (Dante places the latter much deeper in hell).

Here you can find a list of all the characters: Dante, Virgilio, Paolo e F

rancesca, Ulisse e Diomede, Cerbero, Erinni, Minosse, Semiramide, Minotauro, Malacoda, Taide, Conte Ugolino, Pluto, Cleopatra, Gerione, Arpie, Giasone.