Dante's INFERNO is a classic work of literature written by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri in the 14th century. It is the first part of his epic poem, The Divine Comedy, and tells the story of Dante's journey through Hell. The poem is divided into 34 cantos and is written in the Tuscan dialect of Italian. INFERNO is the title of the first canticle, and it describes the nine circles of Hell that Dante must traverse in order to reach salvation.