Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture
This piece by Sirante is in protest of the Giro d’Italia beginning in Israel. Note Dante and Virgil in the poster, watching today’s Inferno.
The image is modeled on Gustave Doré’s illustration of the violent against God in Inferno 14.
Contributed by Virginia Jewiss
Dante at the Roma Termini Train Station
“In the first papal encyclical co-written by two popes — one more conversational, the other more intellectual — Pope Francis on Friday issued a rich meditation on faith and love, calling on believers and seekers alike to explore how their lives could be enriched by God. […] In addition to citing the Old Testament and the Gospel, the text refers to Dante and the philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Friedrich Nietzsche; for the latter, faith was associated with darkness, not light. It also refers to T.S. Eliot and the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber’s exploration of idolatry. […]” –Rachel Donadio, The New York Times, July 5, 2013
On NBC’s Today Show the correspondent from Rome mentions that this is first resignation of a Pope since Celestine V in 1294, who Dante may have been indicating when he referred to the sinner among the Undecided (Inferno 3) who made the “great refusal.”
Many other reporters and commentators discussing Benedict XVI’s resignation are also mentioning Dante’s supposed (but debated among scholars) placement of Celestine V in Hell. See, for example, Carol Zaleski’s piece in the New York Times, February 11, 2013.
Contributed by Julie Heyman
“Dante’s Inferno Documented, now in final stages of post-production, started filming in Italy (Rome, Florence and Bellagio) in February, 2008 and continued in Los Angeles, United States in March, August, December 2008, January 2009 (including its narration) and finished additional filming in February of 2009…
Dante’s Inferno Documented is an introduction to Dante Alighieri’s journey through the first part of the afterlife, Inferno. It is a four-quadrant compelling film organized circle by circle and presented in an unprecedented and unique way that no other documentary has done up until now. Dante’s Inferno Documented is a visual and narrative journey to Hell told by over 30 scholars and artists who were interviewed on Dante’s Inferno, in both Italy and the United States. It features over 50 black and white illustrations by Gustave Dore, over 50 original color illustrations from the upcoming Dante’s Inferno comic book and magazine series and a few dramatic animations from the upcoming animation short film.” [. . .] —Dante’s Inferno Documented
