(proditor). The reasons for the arrest have never been clarified; a conspiracy or accusation of corruption has been suggested. He was blinded by Frederick II in Pontremoli in the Piazzetta of San Geminiano. The exact circumstances of della Vigna's death, which occurred shortly after his downfall, are unknown; some sources claim that he may have been tortured to death or died as a result of being blinded, while others insist that he committed suicide. In the Divine Comedy As a suicide, he appears as one of the damned in the Woods of Suicide in Dante's Inferno, Circle VII, Ring II, Canto XIII: Violent against the self: suicides and profligates. Della Vigna reveals his identity to the travelers Dante and Virgil: "I am himself that held both keys of Frederick's heart / to lock and unlock and well I knew / to turn them with so exquisite an art." Dante's portrayal of della Vigna emphasises his skill as a rhetorician. His syntax is complex and tangled, like the thornbushes. At one point, Dante echoes it: "I think he thought that I was thinking", according to John Ciardi's translation. In placing him among the suicides rather than the traitors, Dante is affirming that della Vigna was falsely or wrongly accused. In the 19th century, William Blake illustrated the Divine Comedy and depicted della Vigne in The Wood of the Self-Murderers: The Harpies and the Suicides. Notes References Huillard-Bréholles, Vie et correspondence de Pierre de la Vigne (Paris, 1864) Presta, Pier delle Vigne (Milan, 1880) Capasso and Ianelli, Pier delle Vigne (Caserta, 1882) Peter de Vinea - Catholic Encyclopedia article External links Pietro della Vigna Pietro della Vigna People from Caserta 13th-century Italian jurists Prothonotaries 13th-century Italian poets Italian male poets Vigna, Pietro della Medieval Italian diplomats Sicilian School poets 13th-century diplomats 13th-century Latin writers Medieval suicides Characters in the Divine Comedy Court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor University of Bologna alumni Italian letter writers Medieval letter writers