Dante
STORY BY ANTHONY CARRUBBA
This year, we mark the 700th year since the passing of Dante Alighieri, the greatest Italian poet. His most famous work, in which he features as the main character, is The Divine Comedy. The story recounts his fantastical journey through Hell, Purgatory and into Paradise, where he is guided by the Roman poet Virgil and Dante’s unrequited love, Beatrice. Often called the father of the modern Italian language, Dante’s influence now brings unity to the once linguistically and culturally disparate regions of the Italian peninsula and its islands. So, the Italian government has declared this to be the ‘Year of Dante’, with celebrations and events planned for the whole of 2021.
Against the backdrop of the global pandemic, Italians look to this Year of Dante as an important symbol of cooperation and recovery. In early 2020, then Italian Minister for Culture Dario Franceschini said that “Dante is the unity of the country. Dante is the Italian language. Dante is the idea of Italy itself.” March 25th, which is just behind us now, was declared ‘Dantedì’, or ‘Dante Day’, a national day to honour the poet.
"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."
These famous words were carved into the stone above the ominous gateway to hell in Dante’s Inferno, which comprises the first of three parts in his Divine Comedy. The bone-chilling inscription marks the true beginning of Dante’s laborious odyssey to reach the heavenly spheres. An incomprehensibly taxing journey takes place, as Dante is confronted by all manner of horrors, and even Lucifer himself.
The poem begins as Dante is alone and lost in a savage forest, encountering dangerous beasts as he fights to keep his courage from deserting him. Vulnerable and without guidance, Dante’s vision of himself in the Divine Comedy is perhaps somewhat autobiographical.
In 1302 A.D., eighteen years before Dante would complete the epic poem, the writer was exiled from his native Florence when a pro-Papal faction took power and sought to purge elements that were opposed to the Pope’s influence. He eventually settled in Ravenna, where he lived until his death in 1321. His grave is still there today. In 2005, the long-remorseful city of Florence officially apologized for Dante’s exile, though it seems that he and his remains may never return to the city of his birth.
“And thence we came forth to see again the stars”
The relevance of Dante’s arduous tale has not been lost on Italians as they continue to suffer through the pandemic. In the last verse of Inferno, Dante finally emerges from Hell, a journey which took him through the center of the earth, to look upon the heavens once more. Dario Franceschini spoke of the country’s collective longing to return to normal life, perhaps also with newfound gratitude.
"We are all waiting to see the stars again," said Franceschini, "to listen to music, see theatre, watch cinema together in the wonderful Italian piazze."