Pia de' Tolomei

Pia de' Tolomei was an Italian noblewoman from Siena identified as "la Pia," a minor character in Dante's Divine Comedy who was murdered by her husband. Her brief presence in the poem has inspired many works in art, music, literature, and cinema. Her character in the Divine Comedy is noted for her compassion and serves a greater program among the characters in her canto, as well as the female characters in the entire poem. In the Divine Comedy La Pia According to a tradition recorded by early commentators of the Divine Comedy, Pia de' Tolomei is identified as "la Pia" in Canto V of Purgatorio. In this canto, Dante and Virgil encounter souls who repented at the time of their violent deaths and now reside in the second division of Ante-Purgatory, which is at the base of the mountain of Purgatory. La Pia's tale follows the violent stories of Buonconte da Montefeltro and Jacopo del Cassero where she briefly says: Pia tells Dante that she came from Siena and implies that her husband killed her in Maremma. She also asks Dante, once he has rested from his journey, to remember her in his prayers when he returns to Earth (because prayers can shorten her time in Purgatory) since she knows no one else on Earth will pray for her. La Pia additionally stresses the importance of Dante's prayer by using the imperative form of remember. Prayer is a joint activity in turning to God that strengthens human bonds, which has been likened to a city; the city of Siena has been argued to be seen as a purgatorial city where its population is on the journey to salvation. Siena is further seen as a place where human ties are formed, whereas Maremma is where ties are broken.