CRASSH

The twelfth canto of the Inferno, the only one in the entire Commedia in which Dante does not say a word, is dominated by a stony geography, the ancient myths of the Minotaur and the centaurs, and displays of tyrannical strengths and passions. It is also the canto in which it is most clear that the poet attributes the power to “open a space” to the event of the cross. It is difficult to say if Dante adheres to the tradition (present above all in the eastern church) that connects the descent into hell with the resurrection or if instead he considers it as part of the mystery of the death of the Son of God (according to the tradition that was already widespread in the medieval period and in western mysticism). But the opening of that space could indicate that it is precisely here that an apocalyptic game is being played for the purposes of taking redemptive possession of humanity.