Dante nel mondo (Dante in the World)
To mark the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri in Ravenna in 1321, activities and celebrations are being organized all over the world, confirming the universality of the message and the familiarity of The Divine Comedy, a work that not only contributed to the consolidation of the Tuscan dialect in the Italian language, but has also been translated all over the world since the fifteenth century. Dante and the Comedy are treasures of Italy and central to its heritage of humanity. Video filmed and directed by Enrica Cavalli.
Dante nel mondo (Dante in the World) is dedicated to them. It is a streaming video project, which will involve twelve Italian Cultural Institutes worldwide, created by the Centro per il libro e la lettura (Center for books and reading) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and with la Lettura – Corriere della Sera (Reading – Corriere della Sera).
The project, a kind of “literary relay” curated by twelve Italian Cultural Institutes, will present a unique and fascinating exploration of some of the most memorable cantos of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. These are not simple readings, but dramatic and musical interpretations, monologues, and performances.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE IIC OF SAN FRANCISCO
At the Gates of a New World: Dante in North America
The Cultural Institute of San Francisco, with the patronage of the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, will contribute to the project with the reading of Canto 3 of Inferno, read by writer Chang-Rae Lee with a commentary by Prof. Valerio Cappozzo.
In his life Dante had to knock on many doors. The door of Hell, in the third canto can be seen as a symbol of the cultural and political situation of his times. But Dante’s symbolism transcends the Middle Ages landing, surprisingly, in the United States, thanks to African American authors who, since the second half of the nineteenth century, revere Dante as a champion of the struggle for social justice and equality between peoples. During the same period, American universities began to teach and study The Divine Comedy, and the work became a vital part of American literary criticism . In 2019 Dante was read and performed in the San Francisco’s county jail, as an appeal to reevaluate one’s life and find self-expression through the imagination and practice of better behaviors—a program that reaffirmed the timeliness and the relevance of Dante’s message.
Chang-Rae Lee is a South Korean, naturalized American writer and lecturer at Stanford University. He has been awarded the American Book Awards, the PEN/Hemingway Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Price and the Dos Passos Award, and was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.
Valerio Cappozzo, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Italian Studies and Director of the Italian Studies program at the University of Mississippi.
HOW TO WATCH
Starting Sunday, March 21st | Live streaming of all videos:
- corriere.it
- facebook.com/corrieredellasera
- facebook.com/fondazionecorriere
- facebook.com/cepell
Thursday, March 25fth, 6 PM:
Watch on YouTube the video produced by the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco
ABOUT DANTE NEL MONDO (DANTE IN THE WORLD)
Over the past seven centuries, The Divine Comedy has inspired linguistic and artistic creativity from theater to literature, from music to painting, from cinema to television, and even comics, video games, and digital art. Dante nel mondo will add to this extraordinary mosaic, starting from the original verses of the Comedy in a collective experience that will involve writers, actors, artists, and professional and personal Dante scholars.
Created with the intention of breaking down distances and bringing people together through the power and wonder of Dante’s work, Dante nel mondo will be streamed on the Facebook pages of the Center for Book and Reading, of the IICs involved and of Corriere della Sera’s la Lettura, serving as a bridge between the past and the future, symbolized by the moment of natural transition in which the event will take place: the beginning of springtime in the northern hemisphere.
The three organizations involved in the creation and promotion of the event are:
• Centro per il libro e la lettura (The Center for books and reading), an independent institute of the Ministry of cultural heritage and activities and tourism, whose mission is promoting reading, especially among young people and in schools; promoting public libraries, showcasing the works of contemporary authors, carrying out information media campaigns for the promotion of reading, and supporting the dissemination abroad of Italian books, authors and culture.
• Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale (The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation), heading the 83 Italian Cultural Institutes throughout the world. These Institutes are places of meeting and dialogue for Italians abroad and for anyone who wants to cultivate a relationship with Italy, deepening its history, traditions and culture, with particular attention to contemporary culture and events. The project will involve twelve of these institutes, chosen on the basis of geographical representation.
• la Lettura – Corriere della Sera (Reading – Corriere della Sera). A cultural supplement of one Italy’s leading newspapers, “la Lettura” offers an up-to-the-minute overview of the lively and vital intellectual discussion that defines culture in Italy. In a happy coincidence, 2021 also marks the 10th anniversary of the resumption of the publication of the supplement, which boasts an editorial history of 120 years, with the first issue dating back to 1901, and publication continuing until 1946.
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