The Tenth Bolgia: Falsifiers and Master Adam

Dante and Virgil enter the tenth and final Bolgia of Malebolge, where the falsifiers are punished with various diseases. The alchemists are covered with scabs; among them are Griffolino d'Arezzo and Capocchino. Two raving shades, Gianni Schicchi and Myrrha, run biting others. The falsifier of coin, Master Adam of Brescia, lies with dropsy, tormented by thirst. He tells how he counterfeited the florin at Romena, and names his accomplices. He quarrels with Sinon of Troy, the false witness, who lies nearby with a fever. Virgil rebukes Dante for listening to their petty dispute. This episode concludes the catalogue of fraud with a vivid depiction of the physical and moral degradation of the falsifiers.