13th-cent. It. woman famous for her adulterous love affair with her brother-in-law, Paolo
See Francesca da Rimini in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(də rĭmˈə-nē, dä rēˈmē-nē) Died c. 1285.
Italian noblewoman. Unhappily married, she fell in love with her brother-in-law. When her husband learned of the affair, he murdered his wife and brother, a tragedy recounted in Dante's Inferno.