In the Hand of Dante leaves viewers with plenty of questions, especially about the fate of Nick, Giulietta, and the mysterious manuscript at the center of the story. The film blends historical elements, crime drama, and spiritual themes, making its final act open to more than one interpretation.
In this In the Hand of Dante Ending Explained, we’ll break down who ultimately controlled the manuscript, why Nick turned against Joe Black, the connection between Nick and Dante, and what the ending may reveal about Nick and Giulietta’s fate.
How Nick Becomes Involved With Dante’s Lost Manuscript
One of the film’s two timelines follows writer and Dante scholar Nick Tosches after he is approached by crime boss Joe Black. Joe believes that an original manuscript connected to Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy may still exist, and he wants Nick to determine whether the discovery is genuine.
The search leads Nick to Italy alongside Louie, one of Joe’s most trusted and dangerous associates. There, the story traces the history of Don Lecco, a feared figure whose influence eventually reached the Palermo mafia. Years earlier, Don Lecco had taken in a young boy who seemed unsuited to a criminal life. Interested in religion rather than violence, the boy was sent to the Vatican, where he spent much of his life serving as a priest.
It is this priest who eventually discovers a manuscript believed to be Dante’s long-lost work hidden inside an abandoned room. Nick and Louie travel to meet him and are introduced to Don Lecco, who hands over the document.
Any hope of a peaceful exchange quickly disappears. Before Nick has time to process what may be sitting in front of him, Louie opens fire and kills everyone in the room. He orders Nick to take the manuscript and leave with him.
Back in Joe Black’s orbit, Nick refuses to immediately declare the manuscript authentic. Instead, he begins his own investigation. He travels through Italy, studies documents from Dante’s era, compares ink and parchment samples, and consults experts. After extensive research, he reaches a remarkable conclusion: the manuscript appears to be genuine.
Why Nick Turns Against Joe Black
The deeper Nick digs, the more uncomfortable he becomes with the people surrounding the manuscript.
He learns that several experts who had examined the document are now dead. While Louie views those killings as a practical way of eliminating potential problems, Nick sees something far more troubling. What began as a literary discovery has become a trail of violence.
Joe Black eventually admits that information about the manuscript came through criminal contacts in Palermo, and Nick realizes the situation is far more complicated than he originally believed. His concerns only grow when he discovers that Joe knows about Giulietta, the woman he met in Ravenna.
Trying to buy himself time, Nick lies and claims the manuscript has been sent elsewhere for final authentication. Joe is furious. The meeting quickly deteriorates, and Nick realizes he may be the next person eliminated once he is no longer useful.
Faced with that reality, he acts first. Nick shoots Louie, Joe Black, and Lefty, cutting ties with the organization before it can turn on him.
What Happens To The Manuscript?
After separating himself from Joe Black’s operation, Nick takes the manuscript to Venice in search of final verification.
There he meets Dr. Susanna Pulice, a scholar who has devoted years to studying Dante and the possibility that an original manuscript might still exist. Nick hides his true identity and presents himself under another name while seeking her expertise.
At the same time, another threat emerges. Rosario, an Italian gangster with connections to Susanna, begins investigating Nick. Rosario discovers that Nick is not who he claims to be and becomes determined to obtain the manuscript for himself.
Nick attempts to continue his work while quietly selling portions of the document through contacts in the rare-manuscript world. But Rosario’s pursuit becomes impossible to escape. Eventually, Nick is captured and tortured until he reveals information about the manuscript’s location.
Rosario then turns his attention to Giulietta. He contacts her and demands that she hand over the manuscript if she wants Nick to survive.
Giulietta agrees to meet him. When she arrives, she brings a gun and clearly intends to stop Rosario. However, the situation spirals out of control. As she attempts to surrender the manuscript, Rosario shoots her and takes possession of it.
His victory is short-lived.
Susanna appears and kills Rosario. Although she initially seemed motivated by academic curiosity, it becomes clear that she has developed her own obsession with Dante and the manuscript. She has no intention of allowing it to disappear into a library or private collection.
Nick eventually uses that obsession against her. Drawing on his knowledge of Dante’s work, he manipulates the conversation long enough to free himself. The confrontation ends with Susanna falling to her death, leaving Nick as the final survivor of the battle over the manuscript.
The Connection Between Nick And Dante
The film repeatedly draws parallels between Nick and Dante.
Both are writers. Both find themselves isolated from the world around them. Both undertake journeys that force them to confront violence, temptation, and difficult choices.
The manuscript itself becomes more than a historical artifact. It serves as a bridge between the medieval storyline and Nick’s modern experience. As the search progresses, Nick’s life begins to mirror themes found throughout The Divine Comedy, particularly the idea of a soul passing through darkness in search of something better.
The film also suggests a connection between Giulietta and Gemma Donati, Dante’s wife. While Dante’s writings often focus on Beatrice, the story places greater emphasis on the woman who remains beside him. In the modern timeline, Giulietta fills a similar role for Nick. She becomes the person he repeatedly returns to despite the danger surrounding him.
Did Nick And Giulietta Die?
The ending deliberately leaves room for interpretation.
After Giulietta is shot, the story moves into a surreal final act where she and Nick encounter Mephistopheles. During this sequence, the figure suggests that others connected to the manuscript have already passed through before them.
Nick refuses to reveal what ultimately became of the manuscript, and the film never provides a straightforward explanation of what is happening. Instead, it presents two possibilities.
One interpretation is that Giulietta survives her injuries and that Nick, unwilling to lose her, accepts a bargain that allows them to remain together. Supporting that reading is the life they appear to build afterward, far removed from the violence that dominated the manuscript storyline.
Another interpretation is that both characters died and that everything that follows takes place beyond death. The film never fully confirms either explanation.
What is clear is that Nick eventually abandons the life he had been living. He sells most of the manuscript over time but refuses to part with several specific pages, keeping them as personal treasures rather than financial assets.
The final scenes bring the film’s two timelines together. Through Nick and Giulietta, the story suggests a reunion between Dante and Gemma after centuries apart. Having spent the entire film chasing a manuscript connected to paradise, Nick ultimately finds his own version of it in Giulietta.
FAQ
- What happens to Dante’s manuscript in In the Hand of Dante? Nick confirms the manuscript is authentic and later sells much of it, although he keeps several important pages.
- Does Nick kill Joe Black? Yes. After learning how deeply he has become involved in a violent criminal operation, Nick shoots Joe Black, Louie, and Lefty.
- Do Nick and Giulietta die at the end of In the Hand of Dante? The film leaves their fate ambiguous. The ending can be interpreted as either a survival story or an afterlife reunion.