Abstract
Among the frequent cases of retardatio nominis in Dante’s Commedia, particularly significant is that concerning the name of the protagonist of the journey, revealed only in Purg. XXX, v. 55. This paper, after delineating the overall system of retardatio in the poem, focuses on narrative strategies that stoke expectations for the name Dante by means of a network of hidden isotopies, highlighting its importance for the author’s narrative choices.