This essay was submitted as part of the ITALG003 'Dante: Divina Commedia' module at University College London, part of the Italian Studies MA. The course was led by Prof. John Took and this assessed work by Serena Pacera is an example of teaching output from that module. Essay abstract: An excursus focusing on Dante’s notion of Love as the organising principle of the universe. The cases of three poignant characters of the Commedia (Francesca da Rimini, Manfredi and Piccarda Donati) are examined, starting from the relationship between “amore d’animo” and “amore naturale”, between free will and self-consciousness.