The narrative poem, THE DIVINE COMEDY, consists of three parts - Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio, and Paradiso. Dante Alighieri took 12 years, while under duress, to write this - one of the world's greatest masterpieces and arguably the greatest writ in Italian literature. Episode 57 of MARS MESSINA PRESENTS features a reading from Inferno, where Dante and Virgil visit the 2nd Circle of Hell (of which there are nine, total). Here is where they encounter the spirits of those who succumbed to the sin of Lust, while in mortality. Paolo and Francesca, lustful lovers, are caught in an eternal whirlwind, much as they were in life. Francesca tells Dante her story, when she is able to float near him.

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