Listen "Approaching Dante Inferno to Paradise (Part II) Featuring Riccardo Bruscagli "
Episode Synopsis
Approaching Dante
Inferno to Paradise, part 2
Featuring Riccardo Bruscagli
“Dante addresses the core of our humanity and his message is your life matters. Take care of it. Your life matters.” Riccardo Bruscagli
Last week Professor Riccardo Bruscagli delighted us with his reading of and reflections on The Divine Comedy, led us on a discovery of the poet’s masterpiece,and invited us into the world of the PBS two-part documentary film Dante: Inferno to Paradise directed by Ric Burns and co-written by Bruscagli and Burns.
In today’s episode, we dig deeper into the film, explore the complexities of the poet’s characters and, with Riccardo’s expert guidance, come to understand and appreciate how much we, as contemporary readers, can learn from Dante.
Biography & Links
Riccardo Bruscagli is Emeritus Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Florence. He was a full Professor of Italian Literature at the University from 1987 until his retirement. In 2010 he was elected Dean of the Faculty.
Riccardo has given lectures and been visiting professor at many renowned universities the world over including Stanford, Berkeley, Rutgers, CUNY, the Sorbonne and Bonn Universität, to name a few. He is a member of the board of directors of the Società Dantesca.
Most recently, he has teamed up with documentary filmmaker Ric Burns to write and produce a PBS documentary on Dante Alighieri and The Divine Comedy.
Dante: Inferno to Paradise
Ric Burns
Stream on PBS
Società Dantesca
Teatro della Pergola
University of Florence
Inferno to Paradise, part 2
Featuring Riccardo Bruscagli
“Dante addresses the core of our humanity and his message is your life matters. Take care of it. Your life matters.” Riccardo Bruscagli
Last week Professor Riccardo Bruscagli delighted us with his reading of and reflections on The Divine Comedy, led us on a discovery of the poet’s masterpiece,and invited us into the world of the PBS two-part documentary film Dante: Inferno to Paradise directed by Ric Burns and co-written by Bruscagli and Burns.
In today’s episode, we dig deeper into the film, explore the complexities of the poet’s characters and, with Riccardo’s expert guidance, come to understand and appreciate how much we, as contemporary readers, can learn from Dante.
Biography & Links
Riccardo Bruscagli is Emeritus Professor of Italian Literature at the University of Florence. He was a full Professor of Italian Literature at the University from 1987 until his retirement. In 2010 he was elected Dean of the Faculty.
Riccardo has given lectures and been visiting professor at many renowned universities the world over including Stanford, Berkeley, Rutgers, CUNY, the Sorbonne and Bonn Universität, to name a few. He is a member of the board of directors of the Società Dantesca.
Most recently, he has teamed up with documentary filmmaker Ric Burns to write and produce a PBS documentary on Dante Alighieri and The Divine Comedy.
Dante: Inferno to Paradise
Ric Burns
Stream on PBS
Società Dantesca
Teatro della Pergola
University of Florence
More episodes of the podcast 15 with Fosca
Back to Reality with Melissa Deep
21/11/2025
Fierce Civility featuring Joe Weston
14/11/2025
Season Trailer featuring Fosca D’Acierno
24/10/2025
Aperilife featuring Sam Rich
20/06/2025
An Epic Ride featuring Emma Boutcher
06/06/2025
Sharing Secrets featuring Elia Nichols
23/05/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.