Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
“The Monster Hunter: World x Devil May Cry collaboration event has begun! The event will continue until May 10th, and you can obtain Dante α, the Dante costume from the DMC series along with his weapon, Dante’s Devil Sword, based on Alastor and Force Edge.” –Soobin “Pratt” Choi and Ji-Eun “Meii” Paek, Inven Global, April 27, 2018
See the original Devil May Cry entry on Dante Today here.
“Dr. Alvis has led us with the right blend of overview patterns and delicious historical tidbits as he weaves the narrative of Dante’s Renaissance world through its fragmented political entities, community structures, waves of republican and tyrannical governments, along with the artists and architects that illuminate the countless points of light on this complex palate. At the center of all is the narrative of Dante himself, and both the secular and religious references and implications of his works.” –Montrose School, In the Footsteps of Dante 2018, June 22, 2018
“Dante: everybody’s or nobody’s, untouchable heritage or living culture? The Festival answers with Young Artists for Dante, the daily events in the Ancient Franciscan Cloisters by the poet’s Tomb, from June the 1st to July the 5th at 11 in the morning. There are students, actors, musicians, dancers; they are local artists and groups, or they answered to the international call for proposals, and stood out among the dozens applications. Week after week, they will reveal five points of view on Dante’s universe, at the crossroads between history and imagination, poetry and music, body and soul. In collaboration with the Municipality of Ravenna, Società Dante Alighieri, and Società Dantesca Italiana, and with the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Ravenna, hosting the events in the Cloisters it owns, the Festival offers Young Artists for Dante to the audience of citizens and visitors at the symbolic admission fee of 1 euro.
Dante: so superior to be out of reach, father of the Italian language, a pillar of literature of all times, all places; the author of a work that mirrors and contains the whole world, human and divine. But also Dante: in the language the Italians speak everyday, in the ideas, in the opinions; his profile is unmistakable, symbol of a culture that still conquers the heart and the imagination of people from any tradition, any country. The Festival that has made of the city’s history the keystone of its own identity – looks forward to the year 2021, the 7th centenary of Dante’s death, while it thinks and rethinks Dante – not far, but very close – with the third edition of Young Artists for Dante.” —Ravenna Festival, May 25, 2018
During the 2018 holiday season, Kinder Italia ran this advertisement, featuring the Befana dressed as Dante, lamenting the “selva di calze infinita” at the supermarkets. Click the image below to view the full ad, available on YouTube.
Contributed by Ludovica Valentini (Florida State University, MA ’18)
The Dante Conspiracy was written by James Becker and published by Canelo Adventure (May 28th, 2018).
“When the body of a poetry professor is found tortured in a deserted barn outside Florence, Inspector Perini is assigned to the case.
“No murder of passion, it is clearly a professional job. When, hours later, thieves break into Dante’s cenotaph, it seems the two crimes may be connected by some missing verses from the Divine Comedy.
“They could contain a code so valuable someone is willing to murder for it. But who? And why? As the bodies pile up, Perini is in a deadly race to find the secret before the killers. The truth will prove more shocking than he could have possibly imagined…” [. . .] —Amazon
“Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta appraised by Dante and Virgil (1835)
“This work by Ary Scheffer depicts a scene from Dante’s Inferno, but not just any scene. In it, Dante and Virgil can be seen watching Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta in hell. The reason they’re in hell? Infidelity. The pair fell in love and carried on affair, despite both being married. Upon finding out, Francesca’s husband, who also happened to be Paolo’s brother, murdered them.” —
“Un’altra attività torna nel centro storico dell’Aquila. Sabato 25 agosto, alle 19, in via dell’Arcivescovado 25, riaprirà al pubblico, in una veste inedita e accattivante, la caffetteria ristorante il “Girone dei golosi”. Il locale e i relativi arredi sono stati progettati e realizzati interamente da artisti abruzzesi.
[. . .]
Il Girone dei golosi si presenta come un caffè artistico, con la presenza di quattro quadri appositamente realizzati dall’artista Srek (Stefano Cencioni), ispirati al Girone dei Golosi, nel Sesto canto dell’Inferno di Dante dove i dannati, sommersi dalla fanghiglia, vengono graffiati da Cerbero, mostro a tre teste.” — L’Aquila, Abruzzo News, August 23, 2018
“Did you know that you can still find a famous rock, called Dante’s Stone, where nineteenth-century travelers, including Mark Twain and Wordsworth, once paid homage to the great poet? Have you seen the oldest fresco of Dante? It’s in a restaurant, but they’ll let you in to see it even if you don’t eat there.
[. . .]
“The user interface has been streamlined to be intuitive and responsive. You can select any of its approximately one hundred points of interest either from the menus or the two interactive maps. Each document was written by professional medievalists who put what you’re seeing into historical context. The fruit of our archival research and years of study is presented in a witty and fun style that teaches while it entertains.” –Quod Manet, LLC, Apple App Store, 2018
“La copertina sfondata, le pagine squarciate. Du-rante la Seconda Guer-ra Mondiale una copia della Divina Commedia frenò un proiettile vagante, evitando lamorte al proprietario che la custodiva in tasca. «È la provache Dante può salvarti la vi-ta», scherza Pablo Maurette,raccontando l’episodio. Questo 38enne argentino, professore di letteratura comparataa Chicago, è il protagonista di una rivoluzione culturale checorre su Twitter: la lettura, partecipata, del capolavoro di Dante ai tempi dei social.
“La formula è semplice: un canto al giorno, per centogiorni. Si legge, ognuno per conto proprio, poi si inizia a twittare per commentare leterzine e cercare spunti di analisi: i cinguettii si trasformano in note a piè di pagina. Il risultato? Un successo planetario. Dal Messico al Cile, dalla Francia all’Australia, migliaia di utenti di lingua spagnola (una bolgia, verrebbe da dire) hanno lasciato ogni speranza per unirsi al viaggio 3.0 guidato da Virgilio.” [. . .] –Filippo Femia, La Stampa, February 2, 2018.
You can read the full article on La Stampa.
See other posts related to #Dante2018 here.
Contributed by Pablo Maurette (Florida State University)
Kathia Recio is a graphic artist from Mexico City. During the #Dante2018 social media movement, Recio created a series of illustrations for the Divine Comedy. Pictured above are a few of her illustrations, which you can view on her Instagram. Clockwise from the top left, this the link to the first illustration, the second illustration, the third illustration, and the fourth illustration.
You can check out more of Kathia Recio’s work on her Instagram and on her website.
See other posts related to #Dante2018 here.
Contributed by Pablo Maurette (Florida State University)
