1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:04,680 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm 2 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:13,360 Speaker 1: and Mild from Aaron Manky listener discretion advised. According to 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:19,119 Speaker 1: the medieval Italian writer Dante Alighieri, in the Lowest Circle 4 00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: of hell sits a frozen lake. At first, that might 5 00:00:24,160 --> 00:00:28,320 Speaker 1: not sound so bad, kind of a winter wonderland vibe. 6 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,839 Speaker 1: That is, until you take into account the countless heads 7 00:00:32,960 --> 00:00:37,800 Speaker 1: and bodies sticking out of the ice and their screams 8 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: of eternal agony. Those souls who are condemned to this 9 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,320 Speaker 1: the ninth circle of Hell, the circle reserved for traders. 10 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: We're all frozen in various configurations according to the kind 11 00:00:53,440 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: and depth of their betrayal. We get this chilling depiction 12 00:00:58,760 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: of Hell from Dante's Inferno, the first part of his 13 00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: Divine Comedy, which he completed around thirteen twenty one. The 14 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: poem is the story of Dante imagining himself journeying through 15 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:17,680 Speaker 1: Hell with the ancient Roman poet Virgil as his guide, 16 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: meeting various characters along the way and contemplating the nature 17 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:27,120 Speaker 1: of sin and the soul. Of course, in the story, 18 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:31,680 Speaker 1: Dante and Virgil make their way through the concentric sections 19 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:37,240 Speaker 1: of the lake called Cocitus after the mythical Greek River 20 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,800 Speaker 1: of Lamentation in the underworld, and they eventually come upon 21 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:46,639 Speaker 1: two men frozen together in the ice, one in front 22 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: of the other. Dante thought it was odd the men 23 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: were so close that their heads were practically touching. As 24 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: Dante and Virgil got closer, their confusion turned to horror 25 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,279 Speaker 1: as they realized that the man behind was in fact 26 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: continuously gnawing through the skull of the man in front 27 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: of him, a gruesome element in their eternal torment aghast. 28 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: Dante asked the gnawing man who he was and why 29 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: he had been sentenced to such a fate. The poor 30 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: soul took a break from his meal, wiped his face 31 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,960 Speaker 1: on a remaining patch of hair on the other man's head, 32 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:38,280 Speaker 1: and began to tell his story of betrayal and horror. 33 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: His name, he told them, was Ugolino de la Guerridesco, 34 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: a disgraced peasan nobleman who had died some thirty years prior. Ugolino, 35 00:02:49,520 --> 00:02:54,399 Speaker 1: by his own admission, had led a treasonous life, always 36 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:58,800 Speaker 1: willing to betray comrades, friends, and even family in the 37 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: pursuit of more his traitorous ways. Finally came to an end, however, 38 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:09,200 Speaker 1: after he betrayed the Archbishop of Pisa, the man who 39 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: was now frozen in front of him during a riot 40 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:18,440 Speaker 1: in the city. Enraged, the archbishop betrayed Ugolino, in turn 41 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:24,040 Speaker 1: having him and his children imprisoned in a tower, before 42 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: throwing the key in the river and leaving them to starve. 43 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: After several days, Ugolino told the visitors his children saw 44 00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: their father bite his knuckle in grief and mistook it 45 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: for hunger. With a sudden panic, they asked him to 46 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,640 Speaker 1: eat their bodies when they died, so that he might 47 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: survive if only for a bit longer. Father, our pain 48 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 1: will lessen if you eat us, they begged. Ugolino had 49 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: tried to calm his children, but it did little good, 50 00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: and soon it no longer mattered, as their already frail 51 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: bodies began to weaken one by one. Over the course 52 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 1: of two agonizing days, Ugolino outlived each of his children. 53 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:19,880 Speaker 1: He grew hungrier by the minute. As the tortured soul 54 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:24,159 Speaker 1: trapped in the frozen lake finished his tale, Dante and 55 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: Virgil realized exactly why his punishment was what it was 56 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: eternal cannibalism. Looking up at the writer and the poet 57 00:04:35,279 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: from his frozen tomb, Ugolino cried, quote, and I already 58 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: going blind, groped over my brood, calling to them, though 59 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,320 Speaker 1: I had watched them die for two long days. And 60 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:53,599 Speaker 1: then the hunger had more power than even sorrow over me. 61 00:04:54,920 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: I'm Danish schwartz, and this is noble blood. Thirteenth century 62 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: Italy could be a brutal place. Ugolino de la Gardesca 63 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: grew up amidst a long standing conflict that centered on 64 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:15,440 Speaker 1: the tension between the ambitions of the Pope and his 65 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: papal states on one hand, and the Holy Roman Emperor 66 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:24,880 Speaker 1: on the other. The inciting debate, known as the investiture controversy, 67 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:28,640 Speaker 1: began in the early twelfth century, and it was a 68 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:33,279 Speaker 1: question over whether secular rulers or the Pope had the 69 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,479 Speaker 1: authority to appoint in areas bishops and abbots. Over time, 70 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,360 Speaker 1: the ruling families of the city states of northern Italy 71 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:45,880 Speaker 1: began to take their sides on the issue, with the 72 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: Holy Roman Emperor's supporters being known as Gibelines and the 73 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: popes as Guelphs. The Geradesca family were of Germanic descent, 74 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,160 Speaker 1: and their ties to the Hoefenstauffen emperors made them the 75 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:06,039 Speaker 1: leaders of the Gibelin faction in Pisa, where Ugolino was born. 76 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 1: The conflict died down to some extent in the late 77 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: twelfth century, but was revived shortly after Ugolino's birth around 78 00:06:15,560 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 1: twelve ten twelve fourteen. Like many dynastic rivalries throughout history, 79 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: conflicts arose both over the quote unquote main conflict and 80 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: increasingly over personal and political squabbles between the involved parties. 81 00:06:34,320 --> 00:06:39,680 Speaker 1: There is much more to the longstanding conflicts and entanglements 82 00:06:39,720 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 1: between the Ghibeline and Gwelf families, but for our purposes 83 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 1: it's mostly important to understand that Ugolino's personal and political 84 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: life was defined by pretty constant conflict. Pisa was a 85 00:06:55,440 --> 00:07:01,240 Speaker 1: Gibeline outpost surrounded by several powerful Gwelf city states, notably 86 00:07:01,400 --> 00:07:06,240 Speaker 1: Genoa and Florence. The early years of Ugolino's life are 87 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: pretty unclear to us, but we know that as he 88 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: came of age, he accumulated power, experience, and connections. He 89 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:21,280 Speaker 1: also accumulated children at least ten or eleven split between 90 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,880 Speaker 1: two marriages, as well as at least one child born 91 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: out of wedlock. Ugolino's early career was defined by military successes, 92 00:07:31,120 --> 00:07:35,240 Speaker 1: particularly as a naval commander. In the wake of a 93 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: twelve fifty eight victory against the Genoese sympathetic judicate of 94 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:45,280 Speaker 1: Calliari in Sardinia, he founded the silver mining city of 95 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: Via de Quisa on the island's west coast, rejuvenating the 96 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:54,000 Speaker 1: existing town and building a castle, a hospital, and a 97 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: defense wall. That city still exists today, known by its 98 00:07:58,680 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: Spanish name Iglesia. This victory would have had Ugolino on 99 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 1: a high he had defeated the Genoese, even if by proxy, 100 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:13,840 Speaker 1: and cemented his own legacy through the founding of a city. 101 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,880 Speaker 1: It would also have earned him popularity amongst his fellow 102 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,240 Speaker 1: Gibelins in Pisa. But, as would become clear over the 103 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:27,440 Speaker 1: next several years, Ugolino was far more interested in growing 104 00:08:27,520 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: his own power than in serving the interests of the 105 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:36,920 Speaker 1: Peasan nobility or their political faction. By the early twelve 106 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: seventies we find Ugolino already barreling towards his first accusation 107 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:47,720 Speaker 1: of treason. He began to arouse the suspicions of his 108 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: fellow Gibelins in twelve seventy one, when he married his 109 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:57,479 Speaker 1: daughter off to Giovanni Visconti, the judge or ruler of Galura, 110 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 1: another Sardinian judicate. The Visconti were among the most powerful 111 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: Gwelph families in Pisa and the surrounding areas. Ugolino had 112 00:09:08,679 --> 00:09:13,880 Speaker 1: bound his flesh and blood to the enemy under different 113 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: political circumstances that might have been seen as a diplomatic move. 114 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:23,360 Speaker 1: Countless royal marriages throughout history, many of which we've covered 115 00:09:23,400 --> 00:09:29,120 Speaker 1: on this podcast, were diplomatic marriages meant to soothe dynastic 116 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:34,920 Speaker 1: rivalries or prevent disputes over succession, even to merge kingdoms 117 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: to accumulate more power for both families or parties. But 118 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: the deeply entrenched nature of the rivalry between the Gebelins 119 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: and the Guelphs, and the geographically precarious position Pisa was 120 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,959 Speaker 1: in as a Gebeline city surrounded by Gwelf power, meant 121 00:09:54,080 --> 00:09:59,400 Speaker 1: that Ugolino's marriage brokering was seen as very suspicious, and 122 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 1: in fact, it seems unlikely that his motives were diplomatic. 123 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: The marriage resulted mostly in increased tension between the Gibilins 124 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:14,600 Speaker 1: and Guelphs and an opportunity for Ugolino himself to grab 125 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: at more wealth and power. Over the next few years, 126 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: Pisa was beset by riots led by none other than 127 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: Ugolino and his son in law Giovanni Visconti. In twelve 128 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:31,640 Speaker 1: seventy four, their involvement in these riots came back to 129 00:10:31,679 --> 00:10:37,479 Speaker 1: bite them. Giovanni was exiled and Ugolino imprisoned. When Giovanni 130 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,680 Speaker 1: died in exile the following year, it was Ugolino's turn 131 00:10:41,760 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: to be sent away, and he spent the next few 132 00:10:44,640 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: years in Sardinia until Charles, the first of Anjou, helped 133 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: to engineer his return to Pisa. Upon his return, Ugolino 134 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:57,840 Speaker 1: went right back to leading Pisa as a military commander. 135 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: His sins seemingly were given and forgotten. However, another opportunity 136 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:09,680 Speaker 1: to grab yet more power soon fell right into Ugolino's lap. 137 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:14,560 Speaker 1: On August fifth and sixth, twelve eighty four, Pisa fought 138 00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:17,480 Speaker 1: Genoa in a naval battle that would come to be 139 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: known as the Battle of Milura. Ugolino had been appointed 140 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,839 Speaker 1: to captain a naval fleet by the Podesta, or head 141 00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: magistrate of Pisa, Albertino Morrissini. The battle was a disaster 142 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:37,480 Speaker 1: for Pisa. Genoa not only enjoyed a decisive victory, but 143 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:42,800 Speaker 1: also managed to capture over twenty eight Peasan ships and 144 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: eleven thousand Peason soldiers, including the Podesta himself, along with 145 00:11:48,840 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: a significant portion of the city's nobility. Ugolino, however, had 146 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:59,080 Speaker 1: managed to escape Genoa's clutches in a move that would 147 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:03,920 Speaker 1: be interpreted as calculated by later writers, although it doesn't 148 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:06,160 Speaker 1: seem to have been seen that way at the time. 149 00:12:06,679 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 1: He got away by signaling his surrender to the Genoese 150 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: and withdrawing from the battle. Now there was a power 151 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:18,679 Speaker 1: vacuum in Pisa, and with much of the nobility in 152 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:23,240 Speaker 1: Genoese custody, there really was only one choice for who 153 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:28,520 Speaker 1: should serve as the new Podesta. Why Ugolino della Garadeska. 154 00:12:28,559 --> 00:12:33,240 Speaker 1: Of course, Two years later, in twelve eighty six, he 155 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,120 Speaker 1: was also appointed Captain of the People, although in this 156 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: he was forced to share power with his grandson, Giovanni's 157 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:46,400 Speaker 1: son Nino Visconti. It was something of an uncomfortable pairing 158 00:12:46,880 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: a Ghibeline and a Guelph ruling together. In twelve eighty seven, 159 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 1: Nino was elected to the position of Podesta, upsetting the 160 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:03,160 Speaker 1: already delicate balance of power between the two warring factions. That, 161 00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:08,200 Speaker 1: of course, did not sit well with the power hungry Ugolino, 162 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:13,120 Speaker 1: and worse, while his own gwelf grandson challenged his power 163 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:18,520 Speaker 1: from within, Pisa gwelth powers Florence and Luca were beginning 164 00:13:18,520 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: to advance from the outside, along with PISA's longtime rival Genoa. 165 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: Ugolino managed to pacify Florence and Luca by relinquishing some 166 00:13:30,760 --> 00:13:36,160 Speaker 1: landholdings and castles. When Genoa suggested the same in return 167 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: for the Peasan prisoners, Ugolino hesitated. He was already fighting 168 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,840 Speaker 1: his grandson for supremacy. What was going to happen if 169 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:51,160 Speaker 1: all of the other nobles returned to the city. Ugolino's 170 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:55,520 Speaker 1: wheels began to turn, but so did his grandson Nino's. 171 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,720 Speaker 1: It was becoming increasingly clear that the two could not 172 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:04,640 Speaker 1: ruled together peacefully, and a struggle for power seemed imminent. 173 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:10,359 Speaker 1: In twelve eighty seven, Nino turned to the Archbishop of Pisa, 174 00:14:10,440 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 1: a leader of the Gibeline nobility, asking for his support 175 00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: were he to make a play for the position of Podesta, permanently. 176 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:24,480 Speaker 1: The archbishop seemed sympathetic to Nino's cause and agreed to 177 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:30,440 Speaker 1: help him. Ugolino got wind of these negotiations and was incensed. 178 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: He responded with what amounted to a coup. He expelled 179 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: from the city not only Nino, his grandson, but also 180 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: several of the remaining powerful Gibelin families, destroying their palaces 181 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,920 Speaker 1: in the process. Ugolino and his militia occupied the town hall, 182 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,880 Speaker 1: where he proclaimed himself the Lord of Pisa. What had 183 00:14:54,920 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 1: been a republic was now an absolute monarchy, with Ugolino 184 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:04,880 Speaker 1: at its own. To prevent his grandson from taking power back, 185 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: Ugolino allowed the return of several of the exiled noble 186 00:15:09,680 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: families to Pisa, offering safety and a modicum of power 187 00:15:14,920 --> 00:15:19,080 Speaker 1: in exchange for their support. This had the additional benefit 188 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:24,119 Speaker 1: of placating the archbishop, who rewarded Ugolino with his loyalty 189 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: by refusing to help Nino attempt to regain power in 190 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: the city. Ugolino had finally reached the pinnacle of power 191 00:15:33,720 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 1: in Pisa. It had taken a lot of backstabbing to 192 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,200 Speaker 1: get there. He had betrayed his political faction, his superiors 193 00:15:42,600 --> 00:15:46,000 Speaker 1: practically in entire cities worth of nobles and even his 194 00:15:46,080 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: own grandson. But he had made it to the top. 195 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: But it would soon turn out there was one betrayal 196 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 1: left in his feverish quest to retain control of Pisaino 197 00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,880 Speaker 1: betray the very archbishop who had helped secure his path 198 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:11,760 Speaker 1: to power. By twelve eighty eight, it seemed Ugolino de 199 00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: la Geradesca had successfully claimed all of the power he 200 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 1: could ever want. He was the sole lord of Pisa, 201 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:23,680 Speaker 1: with practically no nobles left in the city to oppose him, 202 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,320 Speaker 1: and a truce with the archbishop, which meant that the 203 00:16:27,400 --> 00:16:31,520 Speaker 1: nobles who had returned would be loyal, at least for now. 204 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:36,800 Speaker 1: All that meant, however, that when increasing prices and food 205 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:40,840 Speaker 1: shortages hit the city, the starving populace had no one 206 00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: else to blame except Ugolino. Ravenous and panicking, the city 207 00:16:47,160 --> 00:16:53,080 Speaker 1: quickly descended into chaos. Riots erupted as hungry citizens turned 208 00:16:53,120 --> 00:16:57,600 Speaker 1: on each other in desperation. They also turned on their Podesta, 209 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,920 Speaker 1: demanding Ugolino restore the balance, lower the prices, find new 210 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: food sources, whatever it would take to reverse their fortunes. 211 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:11,800 Speaker 1: Ugolino attempted to quash the unrest, and in the process 212 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:17,640 Speaker 1: committed one final betrayal that sealed his fate. During one 213 00:17:17,640 --> 00:17:20,879 Speaker 1: of these food riots, Ugolino made his way through the 214 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: unruly crowd, fighting back angry citizens calling for bread. Wielding 215 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:32,360 Speaker 1: his sword indiscriminately, He just so happened to kill Farinata 216 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:39,000 Speaker 1: of Pisa, one of the archbishop's nephews. The archbishop was incensed. 217 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: It was a tragedy on top of indignity. Amidst the riots, 218 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: Ugolino's stonewalling of Genoa had continued, and the scores of 219 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: still captive nobles had sworn revenge against the Podesta for 220 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,439 Speaker 1: their predicament aka allowing them to still be hostages. It 221 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:04,320 Speaker 1: became clear to the archbishop that nothing was sacred to Ugolino, 222 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,359 Speaker 1: and he would betray anyone, kill anyone, just to hold 223 00:18:08,400 --> 00:18:12,840 Speaker 1: on to his power. The archbishop had finally had enough, 224 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: and he began to hatch a plan. Some months later, 225 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 1: on July first, twelve eighty eight, Ugolino attended a council 226 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:26,000 Speaker 1: meeting to discuss peace with Genoa. Some sources say that 227 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: the archbishop lured Ugolino to the meeting, pretending that he 228 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: wished to lend his support to the Podesta against attempts 229 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: by the still biitter Nino Visconti, his grandson, to regain 230 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:44,040 Speaker 1: control of Pisa from his grandfather. It was, in any 231 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:49,000 Speaker 1: case a trap. As Ugolino left the meeting, he was 232 00:18:49,040 --> 00:18:53,879 Speaker 1: attacked by a band of armed Gibeline nobles. He and 233 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,360 Speaker 1: his supporters managed to hold off the attackers at first, 234 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,920 Speaker 1: and they barricaded themselves in the town But the safety 235 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: of Ugolino's makeshift sanctuary would not last long, as the archbishop, 236 00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:12,960 Speaker 1: making his own betrayal clear, began to rouse the citizenry 237 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: against Ugolino. It wasn't hard, and the archbishop quickly and 238 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: successfully turned the desperation of the Peasan people against their Podesta. 239 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,399 Speaker 1: Ugolino was a trader. He had betrayed not just the 240 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:33,720 Speaker 1: captive nobles, not just Pisa, but every last citizen of 241 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:39,080 Speaker 1: the republic who toiled and starved and died while he prospered. 242 00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:44,520 Speaker 1: Ugolino found that he had no choice but to surrender. 243 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,080 Speaker 1: Once flames began to lick the edges of the town 244 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:52,400 Speaker 1: hall's windows and doors, and smoke began to fill his 245 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 1: aged lungs. In the course of the unfolding riot outside, 246 00:19:58,200 --> 00:20:01,679 Speaker 1: someone had set fire to the town hall to force 247 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: the podestap from his hiding place. Ugolino was captured alongside 248 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:10,720 Speaker 1: two of his sons and two of his grandsons, and 249 00:20:10,840 --> 00:20:15,919 Speaker 1: the archbishop imprisoned the five of them together. Ugolino stood 250 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:20,080 Speaker 1: accused of treason. The archbishop chose to hang his hat 251 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: on the castles that Ugolino had taken from the nobles 252 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:28,959 Speaker 1: and ceded to Florence and Luca. The archbishop argued that 253 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: this amounted to treachery against Pisa, although it was clear 254 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:37,760 Speaker 1: to just about everyone that for many the archbishop included, 255 00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 1: the betrayal was far more personal. The archbishop took the 256 00:20:42,920 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: opportunity to declare himself the new Podesta of Pisa, giving 257 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: himself nearly unchecked power when it came to deciding upon 258 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: a punishment for the deposed Ugolino and his captured heirs, 259 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,199 Speaker 1: and with his rival now in charge, Ugolino must have 260 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 1: known that his punishment would be brutal, but the depth 261 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 1: of the Archbishop's vengeance would lead him to sentence Ugolino 262 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: and his family to a fate far worse than he 263 00:21:15,280 --> 00:21:22,160 Speaker 1: could have ever imagined. The Torre Delamuda, also called the 264 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: Torre del Gualandi now forms part of the Palazzo del Orolojo, 265 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: which houses the library of the Scuola Normale Superiore, PISA's 266 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: public university. It sits in a large square where visitors 267 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: can take in a number of historical buildings, including the 268 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,119 Speaker 1: other part of the palazzo, which once was the seat 269 00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: of the Peasan government. The facade of the tower itself 270 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,320 Speaker 1: boasts some faded fragments of frescoes that give viewers a 271 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:01,280 Speaker 1: tantalizing glimpse into what must have once been a magnificently 272 00:22:01,359 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: adorned building. What tends to draw the eyes of visitors 273 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: about the Torre de la Muda most, however, is not 274 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: its frescoes or even its surroundings, but a plaque that 275 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,600 Speaker 1: sits at eye level as one approaches the building. If 276 00:22:19,600 --> 00:22:22,200 Speaker 1: you go to Pisa, take a break from the famous 277 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: leaning tower and try to find it. Upon reading the plaque, 278 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:31,280 Speaker 1: one might understand how the tower got its third name, 279 00:22:31,840 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: the Torre de la Fame, the Tower of Hunger. The 280 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:42,240 Speaker 1: plaque translates to read, here stood the Torre de Gualandi. 281 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:47,479 Speaker 1: The tragic death of Count Ugolini Delaga Ordesca gave it 282 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: the title of Hunger, and sparked in the Divine Allegery, 283 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:56,439 Speaker 1: indignation and a poem so that the memory of this 284 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 1: miserable event will be eternal. In March twelve eighty nine, 285 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:07,679 Speaker 1: Ugolino della Geradesca, two of his sons and two of 286 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:11,400 Speaker 1: his grandsons, who I should note were all most likely 287 00:23:11,520 --> 00:23:14,840 Speaker 1: fully adults, despite the way they had been implied in 288 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:18,920 Speaker 1: Dante's poem to have been children, were still awaiting their 289 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,400 Speaker 1: fate in the Torre de la Moudha. They had been 290 00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:27,200 Speaker 1: imprisoned months prior by the Archbishop of Pisa, who had 291 00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:33,120 Speaker 1: proclaimed himself Podesta after leading a popular resistance against Ugolino's 292 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:39,199 Speaker 1: despotic and ineffective regime, but really also Ugolino's murder of 293 00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:44,960 Speaker 1: the archbishop's nephew. The time that passed did not seem 294 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,479 Speaker 1: to have softened the archbishop's anger, and of course, now 295 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: the archbishop also had his own power to defend. After 296 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,880 Speaker 1: months of not only deliberating on his rival's fate, but 297 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,920 Speaker 1: likely also in enjoying keeping him and his family in limbo, 298 00:24:03,440 --> 00:24:07,720 Speaker 1: the archbishop came to a decision that Ugolino must die 299 00:24:07,840 --> 00:24:12,000 Speaker 1: for his crimes, and so must his heirs, at least 300 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,400 Speaker 1: those heirs that he had in his custody, but executing 301 00:24:16,440 --> 00:24:20,199 Speaker 1: them in any of the usual ways beheading, which was 302 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:25,560 Speaker 1: typical for the execution of nobles, hanging, even bludgeoning, ran 303 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:29,439 Speaker 1: the risk of making them into murders. Even with someone 304 00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:34,560 Speaker 1: like Ugolino, executing a whole family, a noble family for 305 00:24:34,640 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 1: its patriarch's crime would seem excessive, and the archbishop couldn't 306 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: afford to lose even an ounce of support, and so 307 00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 1: he needed a route that was quieter, more private. In 308 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:53,159 Speaker 1: March twelve eighty nine, he finally found one that was 309 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:58,320 Speaker 1: not only quiet and private, but sufficiently cruel to quench 310 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:03,120 Speaker 1: his thirst for revenge. He ordered that the prisoners remain 311 00:25:03,359 --> 00:25:06,840 Speaker 1: in their cell and that the key be thrown away. 312 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:12,679 Speaker 1: Ugolino and his family members were sentenced to death by starvation. 313 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,200 Speaker 1: Although the walk from the Mudah to the River Arno 314 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:20,440 Speaker 1: could only have taken a couple of minutes, it must 315 00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:25,719 Speaker 1: have felt longer for whatever servant, soldier or magistrate carried 316 00:25:25,720 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 1: out the archbishop's order. But the archbishop was far too 317 00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: angry to reverse course, and in reality he couldn't. Although 318 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:38,720 Speaker 1: Ugolino was at this point elderly at roughly seventy five 319 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:43,040 Speaker 1: or eighty years old, and likely frail after months of imprisonment, 320 00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,920 Speaker 1: he was still the man who had nearly gotten Pisa 321 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,920 Speaker 1: all to himself. He would never let the archbishop live 322 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:55,639 Speaker 1: if he got free, and so the ad hoc executioner, 323 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:59,960 Speaker 1: whoever he was, walked south from the tower, the key 324 00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 1: to the Moudah jingling softly in his hand. He reached 325 00:26:04,359 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: the Arno, and perhaps after a moment of hesitation, threw 326 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 1: the keys in the river. They sank down and settled 327 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: into the murky river bed, any hope of a reprieve 328 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:21,200 Speaker 1: or even a different kind of punishment sinking along with them. 329 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:25,120 Speaker 1: The five bodies were removed from the tower and buried 330 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:28,399 Speaker 1: once it was clear that all five of them had died. 331 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,200 Speaker 1: To cement their infamy and put on just the right 332 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:36,679 Speaker 1: amount of spectacle to placate the people and preserve his 333 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:42,280 Speaker 1: own power, the archbishop slash Podesta raised Ugolino's house on 334 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,119 Speaker 1: the southern bank of the Arno, salted the land, and 335 00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,080 Speaker 1: forbade any of his remaining family or heirs from rebuilding 336 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:54,639 Speaker 1: on it. And though writers over time have tended to 337 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,440 Speaker 1: paint the story as a complete wiping out of Ugolino 338 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:03,800 Speaker 1: and all of his heirs. Ugolino did have remaining sons, daughters, 339 00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:08,880 Speaker 1: and grandchildren, and in fact still has living descendants, and 340 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,880 Speaker 1: they indeed were not allowed to rebuild. To this day, 341 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:16,840 Speaker 1: the land on which his palace once stood is the 342 00:27:16,880 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: only green space in Pisa that overlooks the Arno. Of course, 343 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,920 Speaker 1: the story of Ugolino de la Gardesca did not end 344 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:29,199 Speaker 1: with his death or even the fates of his land 345 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: and descendants. The gruesome suggestion that Ugolino ate the flesh 346 00:27:34,880 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 1: of his children and grandchildren to survive once they had 347 00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:42,840 Speaker 1: perished has overpowered his legacy. He is known as the 348 00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: cannibal Count. Whether or not Ugolino or any of his 349 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:53,720 Speaker 1: children for that matter, actually engaged in survival cannibalism during 350 00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: their imprisonment has been a matter of intense scholarly debate. 351 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: The whispers of cannibalism seemed to have been somewhat contemporary 352 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:07,960 Speaker 1: with the deaths of Ugolino and the family members, but 353 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,919 Speaker 1: the story really gained traction through Dante's retelling of the 354 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: tale a few decades later. From there it took off, 355 00:28:17,160 --> 00:28:21,160 Speaker 1: and before long it became hard to tell where history 356 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:26,960 Speaker 1: ended and legend began. The story as Dante told it 357 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:32,399 Speaker 1: certainly rings apocryphal. A father, already forced to watch his 358 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,399 Speaker 1: family suffer and die for his own sins, faced with 359 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 1: one last cruel indignity before the hunger took him too. 360 00:28:42,080 --> 00:28:45,360 Speaker 1: It's a little on the nose. There's also the matter 361 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: of Ugolino's advanced age. While we can't discount the possibility 362 00:28:50,800 --> 00:28:54,760 Speaker 1: that his son's or grandson's deaths were hastened by illness 363 00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,200 Speaker 1: or some other factor, it seems unlikely that a nearly 364 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: eighty year old old man would outlive all of them, 365 00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: especially after he too had suffered after months of imprisonment 366 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:13,840 Speaker 1: in likely harsh conditions. Additionally, although survival cannibalism under dire 367 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: circumstances is certainly not unheard of, it was recorded during 368 00:29:19,040 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: the Crusades, for example, not to mention better known and 369 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 1: more recent examples like the Jamestown Colony or the Donner Party. 370 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:33,000 Speaker 1: Studies on the behavior of incarcerated people in particular have 371 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: suggested that it would be an unlikely outcome in this case. 372 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 1: But even as scholars began to doubt the veracity of 373 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:47,320 Speaker 1: the cannibal legend, it has persisted. In popular culture. The 374 00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: influence of Dante's telling, in particular, has inspired countless works 375 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 1: of art, film, and literature that take for granted this 376 00:29:57,040 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: morbid morsel of Ugolino's story and parley it into meditations 377 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:07,240 Speaker 1: on the poisonous nature of power and the cruel consequences 378 00:30:07,280 --> 00:30:11,080 Speaker 1: of betrayal. For a while, it was believed that the 379 00:30:11,200 --> 00:30:15,560 Speaker 1: question of cannibalism had finally been settled when in two 380 00:30:15,560 --> 00:30:21,040 Speaker 1: thousand and two, Italian anthropologist Francesco Milegni claimed to have 381 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: confirmed a set of excavated remains to be Ugolino and 382 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:30,200 Speaker 1: his family and found no evidence of cannibalism. In addition 383 00:30:30,360 --> 00:30:34,800 Speaker 1: to not finding telltale signs of cannibalism like teeth marks, 384 00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:41,080 Speaker 1: Milenni pointed in particular to Ugolina's advanced age and the 385 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: poor state of his teeth, arguing that it would have 386 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,800 Speaker 1: been exceedingly unlikely for the elderly man to have outlived 387 00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: his family members, let alone consumed their flesh. In fact, 388 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,760 Speaker 1: he found no zinc in his bones, indicating that he 389 00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: hadn't eaten any kind of meat in some time before 390 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: his death. The anthropologist also noted a head injury that 391 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:11,400 Speaker 1: might have contributed to death. Before starvation. The evidence against 392 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: cannibalism seemed to be overwhelming. That is until a few 393 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:20,440 Speaker 1: years later, in two thousand and eight, when Millennie's findings 394 00:31:20,480 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: were called into question by the Superintendent of Archival Heritage 395 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:30,320 Speaker 1: of Tuscany, Paula Benini, who claimed that the documents Milennie 396 00:31:30,400 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: had used to find these supposed Garadsky bodies had been 397 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: forged in the twentieth century, during Italy's period of fascist rule. 398 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:45,800 Speaker 1: And so although it remains unlikely that Dante's gruesome tale 399 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:49,520 Speaker 1: is true to life, with that little bit of uncertainty, 400 00:31:50,120 --> 00:32:05,840 Speaker 1: the legend of the cannibal count lives on. That's the 401 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 1: gruesome story of Ugolino della Gerdeska's death and afterlife. But 402 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 1: keep listening after a brief sponsor break, to hear about 403 00:32:14,920 --> 00:32:31,760 Speaker 1: another famous depiction of his ordeal. The nineteenth century sculptor 404 00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:36,800 Speaker 1: Auguste Rodan is perhaps most famous for his Thinker, but 405 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:40,880 Speaker 1: that pensive piece was in fact just one of many 406 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: of Rodin's bronze cast masterpieces. Rodin was fascinated by Dante, 407 00:32:47,720 --> 00:32:51,280 Speaker 1: and a number of his sculptures feature characters from the 408 00:32:51,280 --> 00:32:57,320 Speaker 1: Inferno or the Divine Comedy. More broadly, Ugolino's story had 409 00:32:57,360 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 1: a particularly strong impact, its themes of anguish, consumption, and betrayal, 410 00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:08,840 Speaker 1: offering a tantalizing set of subjects for a sculptor to 411 00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: bring to life. Instead of recreating Dante's lake scene, Roden 412 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:20,080 Speaker 1: chose to depict Ugolino with his children and Where earlier 413 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:25,440 Speaker 1: sculptors and artists, most notably Jean Baptiste Carpo, had chosen 414 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:29,200 Speaker 1: to depict the moment Ugolino bit his knuckle and his 415 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:32,400 Speaker 1: fingers asked him to eat their bodies when they died, 416 00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: Rodin instead showed Ugolino bending anguished over the bodies of 417 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:44,840 Speaker 1: his already dead children, perhaps imagining the very moment before. 418 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:51,400 Speaker 1: In Dante's words, hunger had more power than sorrow over him. 419 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 1: Rodin's take on Ugolino's story is well known on its own, 420 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,400 Speaker 1: but it is also noted as an essential component of 421 00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:04,560 Speaker 1: one of the sculptor's most famous Dante inspired works, The 422 00:34:04,640 --> 00:34:08,560 Speaker 1: Gates of Hell. The Gates of Hell, which Rodin worked 423 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:13,160 Speaker 1: on on and off for over thirty seven years from 424 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 1: its commission in eighteen eighty until his death in nineteen seventeen, 425 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: saw the sculptor utilize many of his individual sculptures, including 426 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:29,080 Speaker 1: the thinker as component parts. The result is a nearly 427 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:33,800 Speaker 1: twenty foot tall sculpture that looks like a set of doors, 428 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 1: but is in fact a collection of figures, a dizzying 429 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: scene of eternal damnation. Standing back from the sculpture, you 430 00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: get an almost sickening sense of movement as your eyes 431 00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:52,839 Speaker 1: catch and then lose track of figures, both human and otherwise, 432 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:57,480 Speaker 1: twisted in agony. It's almost as though the gates themselves 433 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:04,040 Speaker 1: are pulsing and twisting along with their tormented decorations. When 434 00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:09,440 Speaker 1: you get closer, the figures come into sharper focus, highlighting 435 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:15,440 Speaker 1: each distinct tortured part of the whole. It's that closer 436 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,120 Speaker 1: look that allows you to see just about in the 437 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: middle of the left door, Rodin's Ugolino and his children. 438 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 1: Clearly Rodan chose to include the sculpture showing Ugolino agonizing 439 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 1: over his dead children, perhaps about to consume their flesh. 440 00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,399 Speaker 1: His children are harder to make out, some of them 441 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:43,239 Speaker 1: seemingly milded into the background of the door, but Ugolino 442 00:35:43,800 --> 00:35:49,440 Speaker 1: and his tortured expression are prominent. The effect is as 443 00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:55,200 Speaker 1: striking as Dante himself described. They are frozen forever in 444 00:35:55,280 --> 00:36:01,520 Speaker 1: their torment, devouring and yet never sated, pun and punishing 445 00:36:02,080 --> 00:36:18,320 Speaker 1: until the end of time. Noble Blood is a production 446 00:36:18,520 --> 00:36:22,400 Speaker 1: of iHeart Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Manky. 447 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 1: Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts, with additional 448 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 1: writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zewick, Courtney Sender, 449 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:37,120 Speaker 1: Julia Milani, and Armand Cassam. The show is edited and 450 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:42,439 Speaker 1: produced by Noehmy Griffin and rima il Kaali, with supervising 451 00:36:42,520 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 1: producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams, 452 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:52,440 Speaker 1: and Matt Frederick. F More podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 453 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:56,839 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 454 00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:00,399 Speaker 1: favorite shows.