Gustave Dore
The hellfire Dante saw in the human race often caused by seemingly emotional states or the abyss of human relations to those who are not connected to God's divine love and the retelling of sinners unaware or unable to deal with their own purging to Hades makes for a profoundly deep ascension message; the heart being a metaphor for the experience. Saint John became the patron saint of Florence during Christian times. Prior to this, a knight believed to be the god Mars was worshiped. One feels therefore, Settignano's work was in homage to Saint John or to a city who blessed Christ. There are several monuments, churches and temples dedicated to the experience, for example, the Baptistry of Saint John (Battistero di San Giovanni). Dante was apparently baptised here and his journey through Hades is like Christ descending through hell, to find God's divine love.
Gustave Dore
