Dante: The Divine Comedy
Dante 2021: Italy prepares for 700th anniversary of poet's death
DANTE ALIGHIERI 2021
Italy will mark the 700th anniversary of the death of the mediaeval poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri, known as the Father of the Italian language, with a programme of commemorative events in 2021.
Born in Florence in 1265, Dante wrote his verses in the vernacular, opting for Tuscan dialect in an era when poetry was generally composed in Latin, meaning it was only read by the most educated readers. Dante is best known for his poetic trilogy La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Comedy, which made an indelible impression on both literature and theology. La Divina Commedia is a long narrative poem representing a 14th-century vision of the afterlife, describing Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead: Inferno (hell), Puragtorio (purgatory), and Paradiso (heaven).
The poet died in 1321, aged 56, while in exile in Ravenna, where his tomb can be visited today at the Basilica di S. Francesco.
Dante, who began composing the groundbreaking work in or around 1308, wrote the poem's 14,233 lines in the vernacular, opting for the Tuscan dialect which was accessible to the masses rather than the traditional Latin which was reserved for the most educated readers.
25 march
Italy has declared 25 March as an annual national day in honour of Dante, to be known as Dantedì.
“E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle”: una rinascita
Dante makes us dream, makes us go back and enjoy the light of the stars: he leads us with his words, from Hell to a new Heaven.
With Dante's words, we find ourselves together, from Catania to Milan, from Sicily to Lombardy, to tell the story of hope, fear, escape, pain, loss, emptiness, error, the desire to rise again, to light, human embraces, clean looks, a new world, love.
Starting from school, the project has grown and has welcomed - in the enclosure of our homes - other voices, other looks. The voices of teachers from all over Italy. The voices of women and men in the front row for the care of humanity.
Thus come the words of the anesthesiologist and the infectious specialist who accept my proposal without hesitation and steal three minutes from their work in the trenches to make them feel that Dante is talking about us, bringing us together, giving us hope.