Dante VR: Educational Game Brings Inferno to Life in Virtual Reality

Dante VR | La Porta dell'Inferno, the first educational virtual reality game faithfully inspired by the opening canto of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, has been launched. Developed through a partnership between Collegio San Carlo di Milano and Italian startup Beyond the Gate, the 15-minute experience allows players to embody Dante himself, navigating the dark forest, encountering beasts, and ascending toward the mountain under Virgil's guidance. The game includes hidden artifacts that reveal additional information about Dante and the poem, culminating in a quiz about the Divine Comedy that contributes to the player's score. Marco Arena, CEO and co-founder of Beyond the Gate, stated that the project demonstrates how collaboration between a startup and a centuries-old educational institution can generate innovation from tradition. The game was created over six months with input from a Dante expert on the Collegio San Carlo faculty and digital innovation specialists. Dante VR received patronage from La Società Dante Alighieri. Its launch coincided with the inauguration of DAMA – Digital Arts Music Agorà, four new multifunctional spaces within Collegio San Carlo dedicated to teaching, expressive arts, digitalization, robotics, digital languages, a music room, an art atelier, and a multifunctional hall. The project is planned to continue with VR games based on Purgatorio and Paradiso.