The “Purgatorio” of Falerina: Dantean Intertextuality in an Allegorical Episode of the "Inamoramento de Orlando"

Abstract

The destruction of Orcagna’s Garden (II iv-v) constitutes one of the most extensive and interpretatively problematic adventures in Inamoramento de Orlando. The episode is distinguished by its long and staged preparation, marked by multiple anticipatory references since I xiii, and nonetheless by its programmatic opening, which frames it as one of Orlando’s amorous “trials” (II iv 1–3). Given these features, it’s essential to try to articulate a consistent interpretation of the episode, something that is already attempted by critics. This essay proposes an intertextual reading, suggesting a wide connection between this episode and Dante’s Commedia, through which Orlando’s journey into the Garden could be read as an itinerarium mentis. In a symbolic journey, Orlando faces both public and private vices and overcomes them under the guidance of amorous inspiration, in a pattern that closely recalls the moral and spiritual trajectory of Dante’s Purgatorio.