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Dellinferno

Ancient name
Ninguaria
Modern name
Tenerife
Modern country
Canary Islands/Spain
Dellinferno, now Tenerife, is the largest of the Canary Islands. It is formed around a central volcanic mountain called Mount Teide, which has the highest elevation in Spain and the highest elevation among all Atlantic islands. Due to Mount Teide's regular volcanic activity, the island generally appears on 14th- and 15th-century maps as Dellinferno ("Island of Hell"). Interpreting this toponym in their exemplars literally, some Sfera mapmakers placed a drawing of Hell at this point in the text (Ashb2, Cap1, Luc2, LW01, Marc2).
Coordinates
28.23, -16.58
This toponym does not appear in the poem, only on the maps accompanying it.
Map of the location M025

Variant spellings of Dellinferno in Sfera manuscripts

Variant Manuscripts
[...]allofern[...] Pad1
[...]l[...] New
[dellinferno?] Morg
d'linferno Ricc1
dalinferno Fo, Par2
De linferno Vat2
dedinferno [sic] Med2
del ifernno Pnc3
deli[n]ferno ME2
DELIFERNO Ashb3
delinfeano Fn12
Delinfer[...] Par1
DELINFER[...] BL01
delinferno Fn9, He2, NB
DELINFERNO Wie1
Delinferno BL02
DeLinferno Vat3
Delinfero Clas2
delinfierno Bal
delinforno Spe
delinfrono Ricc8
dellinferni Parm2
dellinferno Laur3, Laur5, Ricc15, Ricc17
Dellinferno MB
DELLINFERNO Ricc6
dello inferno Marc1
delo[n]ferno Per2
dilinferno Chig2
ferno Ashb7
infernno Cs1
inferno Magl2, Pnc5
isola dinferno Pal8
Parte dellinferno Cap1, Marc2
y[sol]a dinferno Tre
yxola dell fero Ashb7
Suggested citation
Beneš, Carrie. “Dellinferno.” Gregorio Dati’s La sfera = The Globe: A Digital Edition, February 10, 2026. https://la-sfera-staging-a8db029690a6.herokuapp.com/toponyms/delinferno/.