A guest post by Michele A. Riva 2015 is the 750th anniversary of the birth of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), the author of the literature masterpiece the Divine Comedy. Written between 1304 and 1321, the Divine Comedy is an epic poem that describes Dante’s imaginative and allegorical journey through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. The poem has inspired not only the creative efforts of illustrious authors such as William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer and John Milton, but also an ongoing debate on the “medical conditions” that are so frequently depicted in it. During his Hell-Purgatory-Heaven journey, Dante frequently experiences symptoms such as loss of consciousness, hallucinations and fainting, which he…