bolgia

A bolgia is a term of Italian origin, commonly used to refer to a ditch, trench, or ravine. Its most famous usage, however, comes from Dante Alighieri's epic poem, the Inferno, the first part of the Divine Comedy. In Dante's hell, the Malebolge (meaning "evil ditches" or "evil pouches") are a series of ten concentric, circular ditches. These ditches form the eighth circle of Hell, where various fraudulent sinners are punished. Each bolgia contains a specific punishment for a particular type of fraud. For instance, the first bolgia holds panders and seducers, who are whipped by demons. The second bolgia is for flatterers, who are immersed in excrement. The punishments are often depicted as fitting the crimes committed in life, a concept known as contrapasso. The structure of the Malebolge, with its ten distinct ditches, is a significant element of Dante's symbolic representation of sin and divine justice. The word "bolgia" itself, therefore, carries strong connotations of punishment and damnation due to its association with Dante's literary creation.