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Purgatory

Fontanelle Cemetery, Naples. Source: Massimo Santi / Adobe Stock.

Fontanelle Cemetery and Naples’s Cult of the Souls of Purgatory (Video)

The Naples's Cult of the Souls of Purgatory centers around a unique belief system related to the souls in purgatory . The Fontanelle Cemetery, a symbolic location for this cult, evokes an eerie...
Dante holding open a copy of the Divine Comedy while gazing towards Mount Purgatory (1530), Agnolo Bronzino

A Pilgrimage of Thought, Pt 2: The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

The most widely read work of Florentine politician and writer Dante Alighieri, the Divine Comedy dictates a tale of the three realms of the afterlife as believed by the Italians of the Middle Ages...
On November 2nd, All Souls' Day the Irish traditionally believed that the souls of the dead would return to their family and speak to their descendants.     Source: nasir khan / CC BY-SA 2.0

All Souls’ Day: Trapped Spirits And Soul Cakes

All Souls’ Day on November 2 is an important holy day for Roman Catholics and Anglo-Catholics, but do you know why? Just when Halloween has passed and the vampire and ghost costumes get tucked away...
Sky Burial: Tibet’s Ancient Tradition for Honoring the Dead

Sky Burial: Tibet’s Ancient Tradition for Honoring the Dead

The tradition of Sky burials, which is also known by the name of ‘Celestial burial’, is particularly associated with the Tibetan culture, although it has existed in other civilizations throughout...
Dante e Virgilio nel Purgatorio, Domenico Morelli

A Pilgrimage of Thought, Pt 4: Dante Ascends Mount Purgatory

Read Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Purgatory is presented within The Divine Comedy as a mountain that must be climbed to be overcome. Following Dante and Virgil's sojourn into Hell, he and his guide...