One of the earliest engravings to be made in Italy, this print was the first that reproduced a known piece of artwork and labelled itself as such. The image comes from a fresco in the Camposanto in Pisa. This print's wide circulation made the fresco famous. The maker of the print is unknown but he was probably working in Florence because he used the Fine Manner style of engraving associated with that city with its tradition of niello engraving. The style is characterised by cross-hatching in the darker shaded areas and well-defined contour lines, produced using a round-ended burin called a ciappollo. A famous Florentine engraver and niellist, Baccio Baldini worked in a similar style. Baldini is thought to have used this print as a source for some of his own images of Hell.

The fresco was painted in the late 1340s, now attributed to Francesco Triani. This image of Hell follows more traditional iconography seen in earlier frescos and mosaics, but combines this with some new details from Dante's description of Inferno in his Divine Comedy. The Camposanto fresco became a sensation when it was first painted, probably its most original and influential imagery being the gluttons being force-fed at the dinner table. Recognisable imagery from older sources include avarice, the soul bottom left being force-fed molten gold coins (being emptied into a cauldron near-by). Some of the numerous crowned figures below Satan's feet are named, as is Simon Magus, the 'father of heretics'.