Ferrara is the hometown of Beatrice and her father, the bishop. Beatrice's alleged powers of prophecy are well-known throughout Ferrara. She has many supporters who believe her to be "Ancilla Dei," but she is arrested by the Church and put on trial for heresy (213). Beatrice undergoes the Judgement of God to prove her innocence, and she is freed thanks to her father bribing the abbot in charge of the Judgement.