Reading Dante’s Inferno with Teodolinda Barolini

Since 1978, Professor Teodolinda Barolini has taught her famous “Dante in a Year” course, reading just The Divine Comedy with students across a full academic year. Join one of the world’s eminent scholars of Dante and Italian literature as she becomes the Virgil to your Dante, leading students and members of the public through Hell in the course of one full year.

This series of ten sessions will meet across the 2025–2026 academic year, anticipating its continuation in 2026–2028 with Purgatorio and Paradiso. Each discussion will cover approximately 3–4 canti from the poem, and dinner will be provided. Consistent attendance and reading is encouraged, as Dante’s narrative expands out as one delves in deeply.

Bilingual editions by Robert Durling and Ron Martinez (Oxford) or Robert Hollander (Random House) are recommended for their accuracy, style, and the detail of their notes. Participants can also reference the online text and commentary by Professor Barolini at Digital Dante.

This fall, join Teodolinda Barolini, the Lorenzo da Ponte Professor of Italian at Columbia University, as we journey through the circles of Inferno across five sessions. Please RSVP for the entire series using the link below, or visit individual pages if you are unable to commit to the entire series.

Schedule (Spring 2026)

Wednesday, January 28 at 6:00 PM | Inferno XVIII–XX

For this session, we read canti eighteen through twenty of Inferno.

Wednesday, February 18 at 6:00 PM | Inferno XXI–XXIV

For this session, we read canti twenty-one through twenty-four of Inferno.

Wednesday, March 4 at 6:00 PM | Inferno XXV–XXVII

For this session, we read canti twenty-five through twenty-seven of Inferno.

Wednesday, March 25 at 6:00 PM | Inferno XXVIII–XXXI

For this session, we read canti twenty-eight through thirty-one of Inferno.

Wednesday, April 8 at 6:00 PM | Inferno XXXII–XXXIV

For this session, we read canti thirty-two through thirty-four of Inferno.