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the spirit of A.D. Reader project:
"The souls of the blessed float around them in space". Fragments as footholds & lifelines. 

The spirits become globes, spinning joyously on stable axes, flaming out in turn like comets. One glows brighter than the rest, detaches himself from the dance, orbits Beatrice three times and addresses her warmly.

PARADISO: The Paradiso begins at the top of Mount Purgatory, called the Earthly Paradise (i.e. the Garden of Eden), at noon on Wednesday, March 30 (or April 13), 1300, following Easter Sunday. Dante's journey through Paradise takes approximately twenty-four hours, which indicates that the entire journey of the Divine Comedy has taken one week, Thursday evening (Inferno I and II) to Thursday evening.

After ascending through the sphere of fire believed to exist in the earth's upper atmosphere (Canto I), Beatrice guides Dante through the nine celestial spheres of Heaven, to the Empyrean, which is the abode of God. The nine spheres are concentric, as in the standard medieval geocentric model of cosmology, which was derived from Ptolemy. 

Beatrice: Beatrice personally appears near the end of the Purgatorio to take over as guide from the Latin poet Virgil because, as a pagan, Virgil cannot enter Paradise. Moreover, Beatrice, being the incarnation of beatific love (as her name implies), is uniquely suited to lead the pilgrim into the realm of divine bliss. Naturally, then, it is Beatrice who must lead the pilgrim into heaven. Where Virgil is understood as human reason and philosophy, Beatrice represents religious knowledge and passion: theology, faith, contemplation, and grace. Philosophy is suited to guide the pilgrim through the less holy realms of sin and repentance, but only divine faith can completely lead the soul to God.

As Beatrice guides Dante through the spheres of Heaven, she grows increasingly beautiful and indescribable, representing Dante's progress towards God. She frequently corrects Dante during his journey, acting as a spiritual guide and source of wisdom. Contrary to her initial harsh treatment, throughout Paradiso Beatrice is encouraging and patient towards Dante, taking joy in his gradual progress. 

Certain portions of the Divine Comedy were well-known throughout
Italy in Dante's life-time, and after his death (1321), the whole poem was repeatedly copied, and widely circulated. Manuscripts for rich amateurs were generally written on parchment by skilled calligraphists, the initial letters of cantos and divisions being, as was usual in medieval codices, illuminated in gold and colours. In many instances, an ornamentation springing from the initial, extended over the whole page. Within the opening letter of the poem, it was customary to enclose a portrait of Dante, writing, in which the artist made a more or less successful attempt at likeness, or a group of Dante and Virgil, or a miniature presentment of some familiar episode. In the more costly manuscripts, illuminations occupying half, or sometimes the whole of a page were introduced, on which the painter bestowed his utmost care and skill in the delineation of some characteristic scene from the canto before him.

It was characteristic of the Renaissance spirit to feel no incongruity in the blending of the sacred and the profane. Pagan and Christian symbols are unhesitatingly introduced side by side.

Botticelli's Divine Comedy:
The Divine Comedy Illustrated by Botticelli is a manuscript of the Divine Comedy by Dante, illustrated by 92 full-page pictures by Sandro Botticelli that are considered masterpieces and amongst the best works of the Renaissance painter. The images are mostly not taken beyond silverpoint drawings, many worked over in ink, but four pages are fully coloured.

The manuscript eventually disappeared and most of it was rediscovered in the late nineteenth century.

The entire thematic sequence of each canto was supposed to be illustrated by its own full-page drawing by Botticelli, an unprecedentedly ambitious conception. Normally, by the 15th century, a single incident was shown in each framed illustration in illustrated Dantes, as for other narrative works. Botticelli was combining this tradition with another, continuous narrative, where recurrent incidents were shown, usually unframed and in the margin below the text. Thus the principal figures of Dante, Virgil and Beatrice often appear several times in an image.

I. Botticelli shews us Dante conducted by Beatrice to the spheres of Paradise. They are depicted floating upwards over meadows watered by the stream of Eunoé. The artist has drawn his inspiration from the closing verse of the Purgatorio: Pure and made apt for mounting to the stars, from V. 47 and 48 of Canto I of the Paradiso, which describe Beatrice as gazing upwards at the sun, like the eagle, and from the imagery of verses  illustrating the lightning-course of Dante and his mistress through the air, a course which, governed by the natural laws of the sphere they have entered, has become so swift and easy as to be almost imperceptible to the poet. 

II. Dante's discourse with Beatrice, in the sphere of the moon, entering which they seem to be enveloped in a cloud of diamond.

The virtue and motion of the sacred orbs 
As mallet by the workman's hands, must needs
By blessed movers be inspired.
This heaven Made beauteous by so many luminaries,
From the deep spirit that moves its circling sphere, 
Its image takes, an impress like a seal.
And as the soul that dwells within your dust,
Through members different, yet together form'd,
In different power resolves itself; e'en so
The intellectual efficacy unfolds
Its goodness multiplied throughout the stars.

"Like a bird that anxiously awaits the sunrise in order to seek food for her young, Beatrice gazes upwards. Soon the zenith grows light. Joyfully, the lady calls out to her ward to look at the multitudes who march in the triumphal procession of Christ. Through the radiance of a thousand lights Dante sees the sun (of Christ) that gives them all light, the light-giving substance ('lucente sustanza'). So intense is the light that he turns aside to his lady, dazzled. She explains to him that this is the manifestation of wisdom and of the power that has opened the path from Earth to heaven, a power which overwhelms him but which he must not and cannot resist.

His soul bursts out like lightning from a dark cloud, beyond the power of memory to recall. When he opens his eyes again, he has grown fit to see Beatrice in her true guise and to behold her smile. The poet can nevertheless make no attempt to describe the heavenly face of his beloved in his 'sacred poem' ('sacrato poema'). At length, Beatrice draws his attention away from herself to the Virgin Mary and the Apostles: they stand out in the circle of reflective souls beneath the source of all light, which has withdrawn to give Dante once more space for his vision.

He sees the Mother of God as the brightest sapphire in a descending circle of flames, encircled and praised by *angelic love' ('amore angelico'). As this vision withdraws, his eyes can follow it only little way, for he is still far removed from the outermost level of Paradise (the Primum Mobile). The lights that remain, among them Peter, direct their flames longingly upwards in honour of Mary and raise their voices in the hymn 'Regina coeli' ('Queen of Heaven').

His soul bursts out like lightning from a dark cloud, beyond the power of memory to recall. When he opens his eyes again, he has grown fit to see Beatrice in her true guise and to behold her smile. The poet can nevertheless make no attempt to describe the heavenly face of his beloved his 'sacred poem' ('sacrato poema'). At length, Beatrice draws his attention away from herself to the Virgin Mary and the Apostles: they stand out in"

Paradiso, Canto XXIII

XXIII
Dante and Beatrice in the sphere of the fixed stars. Thousands of blessed spirits circle round the light of Christ, who shines in their midst like the sun at noon-day (V. 94 et seq.). Botticelli has dwelt only upon this, among the varied phenomena described by the poet. The constellations of the Twins and the Bull are lightly sketched with the silver point , under the feet of Dante and Beatrice (cf. Par. XXII, V. 110-111).

XXIV
Dante and Beatrice in the sphere of the fixed stars. Christ shines like the sun at noon-day. The souls of the blessed revolve round this sun, from which they receive their light, as around a fixed pole (cf. Par. XXIII). The drawing seems to refer more especially to the opening verses of the canto, in which Beatrice begs the blessed spirits to satisfy Dante's thirst for heavenly knowledge.
The glowing light which envelopes the soul of St. Peter hovers over the heads of Dante and Beatrice. On it is inscribed the name: "Piero".

XXV
Dante and Beatrice in the sphere of the fixed stars. The holy fires circle round Christ, the Sun. After St. Peter's colloquy with Dante, another light detaches itself from the galaxy, and advances towards him. This is St. James the Apostle. Beatrice addresses Dante (V. 17-18): "Lo! lo! behold the peer of mickle might That makes Galicia throng'd with visitants."
(Alluding to Compostella in Galicia , the shrine of St. James.) The composition is suggested by these lines.
Three flames, inscribed respectively "Piero", "Giovanni", "Jachopo", hover over Dante's head.

XXVI
Dante and Beatrice in the sphere of the fixed stars (cf. the last drawing). Dante is so dazzled by the glory of St. John, that he loses the power of sight for a while. The illustration, however, seems to deal, not with this episode, but with the description in V. 70-76. Dante, having concluded the speech in which he discourses of the effects of man's love for God, recovers his sight.
And as a sleep is broken and dispersed Through sharp encounter of the nimble light With the eye's spirit running forth to meet The ray, from membrane on to membrane urg'd, And the upstartled wight loathes that he sees; So, at his sudden waking, he misdeems Of all around him. till assurance waits On better judgment; thus the saintly dame Drove from before mine eyes the motes away.
(Beatrice tells him that the fourth light, which now approaches him, is Adam, the father of mankind.) Over the heads of Dante and Beatrice are four lights, inscribed respectively: "Piero", "Giovanni" "Jachopo", "Adamo".

XXVII
Dante and Beatrice linger in the heaven of the fixed stars. Peter speaks with indignation of the actual state of the church.
The holy flames then vanish upwards. Beatrice exhorts Dante to cast his eyes down once more, and note the distance he has travelled since his last observation (Par. XXII). Dante sees the tract he has passed over, and a portion of the earth illuminated by the sun. Dante and Beatrice then ascend from the constellation Gemini (Castor and Pollux, "Leda's children" V. 98), to the ninth, or highest heaven.

None of Botticelli's known works bear either date or signature, and only in a few instances are we able to assign them with any confidence to a particular period. We can therefore only approximately trace the course of his artistic development. Further difficulties beset us from the fact that Botticelli early surrounded himself with a numerous band of pupils and assistants. In his bottega, a combination of school and workshop such as grew up round every popular master of the times, pictures were executed, for the more important parts of which, such as the heads and hands, the master was himself responsible, while the rest was left to his assistants.

William Blake's version:

Gustave Doré's Paradiso: