Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

Journées Dante Alighieri in Montauban, France (2021)

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“La soirée inaugurale des Journées Dante Alighieri a rassemblé le monde de la culture, les élus et de nombreux italophones au théâtre Olympe-de-Gouges. Un vrai succès pour cette institution culturelle italienne, la plus ancienne et la plus prestigieuse dans le monde, implantée à Montauban depuis plus de cinquante ans. Pour son président Alain Crivella : ‘J’ai le grand honneur d’ouvrir ces journées avec vous, le rôle de Dante dans la création de l’Italie est prépondérant, son message 700 ans après sa mort incroyablement actuel et universel. Écrivain hors pair et théoricien politique, linguiste, il a fait face à la crise idéologique du Moyen Âge en défendant la spiritualité face aux valeurs marchandes.’

“Aujourd’hui à 18 h 30 au Théâtre Olympe de Gouges, deux artistes, Odile Cariteau et Cathy Teil, exposent entre peintures figuratives et abstraites, enluminures, écritures, collages, elles retranscrivent l’univers dantesque.” [. . .]    —Ladepeche.fr, February 2, 2021 (retrieved March 27, 2022)

Lucca Comics and Games Festival: “A Riveder le Stelle” (2021)

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“‘Lucca Comics & Games is a unique cross-media event dedicated to pop culture, cosplay, and comics held in a medieval Tuscan town,’ said Emanuele Vietina, Director of Lucca Comics & Games.

“This year Italy is honouring poet and philosopher Dante Alighieri by celebrating the 700th anniversary of his death and Dante’s Divine Comedy sets the tone for the returning festival with this year’s theme being ‘rebehold the stars: light’.

“‘The theme of Light will visually accompany the Festival experience with contemporary Italian illustrator Paolo Barbieri creating the image of Lucca Comics & Games poster (above). In the year of Dante’s celebrations, he creates a link between Lucca Comics & Games to Dante’s journey with Virgil through the darkness of Hell.” [. . .]    —SciFiNow, September 24, 2021 (retrieved March 8, 2022)

The festival took place, in-person, from October 29 – November 1, 2021.

700 year old fresco depicts Dante sent to burn in Hell

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“Scholars believe they have found a portrayal of Dante being sent to burn in the fires of damnation, hidden in the corner of a 700-year-old fresco in Tuscany.

They say the figure of a man with an aquiline nose and a distinctive red beret bears a striking resemblance to known portraits of Dante, who is revered in Italy as much as Shakespeare is esteemed in Britain.

The demonisation of the poet may have been motivated by the bad relations he had with the Church.

The fresco was painted between 1336 and 1342 by an artist named Bonamico Buffalmacco and adorns a wall of the Camposanto, a historic cemetery in Pisa which is close to the famous Leaning Tower.”    — Nick Squires, The Telegraph, February 1, 2022.

Read the full article here.

After Hours: Dante – Heaven and Hell at Dante Season 2021

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On November 13, 2021, the collaborative effort behind Dante in Oxford hosted the “After Hours” event. The event was described as follows:

“An exciting ‘after hours’ programme of activities at the Ashmolean Museum showcasing the diverse range of researchers and performers who are connected to Dante.

“Oxford will be alive with opportunities to celebrate Dante in 2021 — exactly 700 years since the great poet’s death. Best known for his astonishing Divine Comedy — a three-stage epic poem, narrating a journey through the afterlife from Hell through Purgatory to Heaven, with all of human history, knowledge, love, and life encountered on the way — Dante was an advisor to princes, a political exile, and a revolutionary poet.”    —TORCH (retrieved February 13, 2022)

One of the “performers” at this event was a robotic poet named Ai-da; view our post about her poetry here.

More information about the “After Hours” event and its programming (which included live performances and other exhibits) can be found here.

Other Dante in Oxford posts can be found here.

Dante and Dance at Dante Season 2021

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On November 4, 2021, the collaborative effort behind Dante in Oxford hosted the “Dante and Dance” event. The performance was described as follows:

“Luc Petton, choreographer, will present a screening of Ainsi la Nuit, his extraordinary ballet for human dancers, birds, and animals inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy. Luc Petton will also be in conversation with members of the audience. The event is programmed in conjunction with the display ‘The Divine Comedy from Manuscript to Manga’ which is open to the public in an adjacent space of the Bodleian’s Weston Library. The film screening will be followed by a response from Professor Sue Jones and a Q&A.”    —TORCH (retrieved February 13, 2022)

More information about “Dante and Dance” and its programming can be found here.

Other Dante in Oxford posts can be found here.

How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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