''Ciacco'' () is a key character in the

third circle of hell The third circle of hell is depicted in Dante Alighieri's ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'', the first part of the 14th-century poem ''Divine Comedy''. ''Inferno'' tells the story of Dante's journey through a vision of the Hell in Christianity, Chr ...

in the ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'' by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

that was not yet well defined by historians. This is how he presents himself to Dante when he is in

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...

This way introducing himself allows us to interpret it in various ways, but one of the oldest commentators of the Comedy suggests a derogatory nature of this name: "Ciacco is said to be a pig's name, hence he was called this way for his gluttony."

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( , ; ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian people, Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanism, Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so ...

makes of Ciacco eighth story of the ninth day of the ''

Decameron ''The Decameron'' (; or ''Decamerone'' ), subtitled ''Prince Galehaut'' (Old ) and sometimes nicknamed ''l'Umana commedia'' ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's ''Comedy'' "''Divine''"), is a collection of ...

'', describing him as "the most gluttonous fellow that ever lived." However, the reference to Ciacco's name is somewhat ambiguous: he is referred to as the man "whom everyone called Ciacco."558 It is hard to say if Boccaccio had sources for his writings aside from Dante, because this name has not been found in literature before Dante. According to Vittorio Sermonti, a scholar dedicated to the study of the Comedy, the hypothesis that this Ciacco is the poet Ciacco dell'Anguillara is not true.

References

External links

Novel VIII of the Ninth day of the Decameron
Boccaccio, Giovanni. Decameron. Trans. J. G. Nichols. New York: Everyman's Library/Alfred A. Knopf, 2009. Print. Fictional ghosts Characters in the Divine Comedy Characters in The Decameron {{lit-char-stub