Toynbee "Belàcqua"
probably the nickname of one Duccio di Bonavia of Florence, who was still living in 1299; musical instrument-maker of Florence, noted for his indolence, say the old commentators. D. places him in Ante-Purgatory among those who neglected their repentance until just before death, [Purg. iv. 123]; un, [Purg. iv. 106]; colui, [Purg. iv. 110]; lui, [Purg. iv. 117] elli, [Purg. iv. 127] [Antipurgatorio].

As D. and Virgil pass along, V. explains that the ascent of the Mt. of Purgatory becomes easier as it approaches the top, and that, once on the summit, D. would be able to repose his weariness, [Purg. iv. 88-95]; thereupon a voice says to D. that mayhap he will want a rest before that ([Purg. iv. 97-99]); turning round they see figures lounging listlessly under the shadow of a rock ([Purg. iv. 100-105]), and among them one sitting clasping his knees, with his face hidden between them ([Purg. iv. 106-108]); D. draws V.'s attention to his indolent aspect, whereupon the figure, scarce raising his face, addresses D., who recognizes that it is Belacqua ([Purg. iv. 109-115]); in reply to a question from D. as to why he is seated there, B. explains that, because he delayed his repentance to the last, he is doomed to wait outside Purgatory for as long as he had lived on earth, unless some righteous person make intercession for him ([Purg. iv. 123�135]).

Benvenuto says that besides being a maker of musical instruments, B. was something of a musician also, and adds that D., who was a lover of music, was intimate with him on that account:

Iste fuit de Florentia, qui faciebat citharas et alia instrumenta musica, unde cum magna cura sculpebat et incidebat colla et capita cithararum, et aliquando etiam pulsabat. Ideo Dantes familiariter noverat eum, quia delectatus est in sono.

The Anonimo Fiorentino says of him:

Questo Belacqua fu uno cittadino da Firenze, artefice, et facea cotai colli di liuti et di chitarre, et era il più pigro uomo che fosse mai; et si dice di lui ch'egli venìa la mattina a bottega, et ponevasi a sedere, et mai non si levava se non quando egli voleva ire a desinare et a dormire. Ora l'Auttore fu forte suo dimestico: molto il riprendea di questa sua nigligenzia; onde un dì, riprendendolo, Belacqua rispose colle parole d'Aristotile: Sedendo et quiescesedo anima efficitur sapiens; di che l'Auttore gli rispose: Per certo, se per sedere si diventa savio, niuno fu mai più savio di te. [For a review of the extant documents, see S. Debenedetti, BSDI. xiii (1906), 222-233.]

©Oxford University Press 1968. From A Dictionary of Proper Names and Notable Matters in the Works of Dante by Paget Toynbee (1968) by permission of Oxford University Press