The Birth of Hell: An Angel, His Fall, and His Reign among Us

This chapter analyses the birth of hell with special attention to early modern Italy (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries), understood as a special laboratory for the Catholicism born from the Council of Trent. In particular, representations of the origin of the locus inferni in poetry and art will be examined. After a summary of the theological background, the chapter offers a path through the works of some literary figures who addressed the origin of hell in their works; subsequently, it shows the pictorial and sculptural production that confronted the theme. In all cases, the cosmic struggle that led to the birth of the physical and subterranean hell is emphasized, and, in addition to the figure of Lucifer, the role of the archangel Michael as the personification of the powers of good stands out.