Quote · Dwarkesh Podcast
Ada Palmer – Machiavelli is the most misunderstood thinker of all time
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Jun 16, 2026
Where this was said
Florence, a city famous in hell
At 1:14:02 · chapter starts 1:06:44
Dante filled the Inferno with Florentines to condemn his city's hypocrisy. Ada Palmer contrasts Renaissance Catholic tolerance of universal sin with later Calvinist purity culture and the patron saint of murderers.
Dante: Florence 'famous in hell'
Dante populated his Inferno with Florentines to condemn his city's hypocrisy, famously greeting a group of fellow citizens with the line 'Congratulations, Florence, a city famous in hell.'
