Francesca da Rimini, the beautiful daughter of Giovanni da Polenta, lord of Ravenna, was given in marriage to Giovanni the Lame, son of Malatesta, lord of Rimini, on the conclusion of peace between the two houses. But her heart was already given to Paolo, Giovanni's brother; and in 1285 Giovanni, surprising the two lovers together, slew them both. The incident is woven into the Inferno of Dante. See Yriarte, Françoise de Rimini dans la Légende et dans l'Histoire (Paris, 1882).
Francesca da Rimini
Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 4: Dionysius to Friction, p. 790
Source scan(s): p. 0809