Commentary Inf XXII 97-99

As crafty as his keepers, Ciampolo uses Dante and Virgil to set up his counter-measures, offering to bring to the surface barrators who will speak their language, Tuscans and Lombards (he has evidently caught the linguistic marks of their birthplaces in their accents). Dante, of course, is variously recognized as a Tuscan from his speech, but it comes as something of a surprise when we discover Virgil actually speaking in Lombard dialect (see [Inf XXVII 20-21] and C.Inf.XXVII.19-21).