to be a sinner with no real world counterpart. Dante speaks to Ciacco in the circle of gluttony, to which Ciacco has been relegated. After having listened to Ciacco speak of Florence's future, Dante asks in lines 79-81 after five men he's not yet encountered on his journey, men "who were so worthy... and... whose minds were bent on doing good." (lines 79-81) These men are Rusticucci, Tegghiaio, Arrigo (a Florentine Ghibelline not named again in the Divine Comedy), Farinata degli Uberti, and Mosca dei Lamberti, each of whom Dante seems eager to meet. In response, Ciacco tells Dante that these men are "among the blacker souls," (line 85) who dwell deeper in hell. Ten cantos later in Canto XVI, Dante and his guide Virgil arrive at the bottom of the ring of seventh circle of Hell that houses the sodomites. Almost instantly, three shades approach and recognize Dante by his clothing as a fellow Florentine. Once in front of him, the shades continue to walk in a "wheel" formation, so that they can speak with Dante, maintaining their gaze on him, while also adhering to their punishment–that they should forever be in motion, running beneath a perpetual rain of fire. They are Guerra, Aldobrandi, and Rusticucci, the last of whom speaks on behalf of the group. It is often noted that of all the shades with whom Dante interacts in Hell, these three receive the warmest greeting from the protagonist, despite Dante's having chosen to place them in the circle of sodomy, one of the most egregious sins. Rusticucci first introduces the two men with him, both Guelphs of noble lineages and high political rank when they were alive. He then introduces himself as one who suffers with the sodomites through the fault of his wife. It is thought that this blame is based either in the repulsiveness of Rusticucci's wife (posited perhaps most aggressively by Giovanni Boccaccio), which drove him to find sexual pleasure elsewhere, or in her refusal to have sex with him. Either way, Rusticucci explains his presence in this, at the time deemed disgraceful, circle of hell as not being entirely his fault. Rusticucci's role as speaker for the group is thought to be a nod to his success as an orator in when he was alive. It is at this point, after the introductions are made, that Dante is overcome with the urge to