Before tackling The Divine Comedy, I'd suggest reading Virgil's Aenied if you haven't already. Dante references it pretty heavily, and Virgil himself is one of the major characters in Inferno. I recommend the tanslation that's got side-by-side Italian and English both because the translation is good and because it helps clarify things if you've got even the slightest familiarity with Italian. Also, be aware that Paradiso is pretty boring and that Dante Aligheri was a neurotic little man.

In other news: I wandered over here from religion_etc 'cause you have such interesting things to say. Would you object if I added you to my friends list?