On 5 September, in Ravenna, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella will open the year of celebrations for the 700 years from the death of Dante Alighieri. In memory of the great poet, a full calendar of cultural events has been drawn up, announced at the Rasi Theater on July 30th. They will involve the city, theEmilia-Romagna and the whole of Italy until 12 September 2021.
Completed the restoration of the tomb of the great poet
In view of the start of the celebrations for the seventh centenary of Dante's death, the restoration works of his tomb have been completed. It will be reopened to the public on the same day of Saturday 5 September, together with the nearby Quadrarco of Braccioforte. The restoration work on the tomb began in April of this year and involved the stone parts, the stuccoes and the plaster. Built in the basilica of San Francesco, in the center of the city, where the father of the Italian language died in 1321, the neoclassical temple, designed by the architect Camillo Morigia in the two-year period 1780-81, will once again be accessible to everyone.
For the 700th anniversary, a rich program of events
To worthily celebrate the seventh centenary of Dante Alighieri's death, a rich and articulated program was presented: "Viva Dante-Ravenna 2020/2021". Inside, a long series of institutional, literary, exhibition, performative, didactic and research events are planned. A program destined to be further enriched, which - as the promoters anticipate - includes "structural interventions that will leave a tangible mark".
The protagonists
The celebrations will begin with the reading by the actor Elio Germano, of the 33rd canto of Heaven. On September 12, 2021, however, they will end with the concert of the maestro Riccardo Muti, in Piazza San Francesco. As an integral part of a sharing path between Dante's cities, the concert will also be performed in the following days in Florence and Verona. Thanks to the Ravenna Manifestazioni Foundation, which will offer international live entertainment projects throughout the year, it will be possible to attend the Autumn Trilogy, with the world premiere of Sergei Polunin, ballet icon. On Friday 11 September, at the Classense library, “Inclusa est flamma. Ravenna 1921: the Secentenary of Dante's death ", first exhibition of the exhibition project" Dante. The eyes and the mind ". Sunday 13 will be celebrated the annual death of the poet.
A song from the Divine Comedy will be read every day and forever
Absolute novelty - as announced by the mayor of Ravenna, Michele De Pascale - will be, starting from September 14, at Dante's tomb, every day and perpetually, the reading of a song from the Divine Comedy in the initiative "The hour that turns desire". Furthermore, by the end of this year the new Dante Museum will be inaugurated, and by spring 2021, Casa Dante, in the current Casa Farini, a few steps from the Museum and the tomb.
Among the protagonists of the 700 years since Dante's death there will also be theUniversity of Bologna: on the occasion of the “Dantedì”, a national event on Dante and contemporary poetry will take place from March, while from 26 to 29 May a congress will bring to Ravenna those who have studied Dante's legacy in the world. Among the numerous literary initiatives, there are also: the "Classensi Readings", the "Dante Conversations", the unpublished "Night of Poetry".
Poste Italiane will also make its contribution to celebrate the 700th anniversary of Dante's death
Poste Italiane has selected 70 small municipalities, connected, in various ways, to the artistic events and to the life of Dante. These are municipalities with less than 5 inhabitants, scattered throughout the national territory: from Abruzzo to Sardinia, passing through Lazio and, obviously, Tuscany. The initiative was promoted for recover the memory of the bond, sometimes forgotten, of Dante with the lesser known places of his artistic and sentimental biography. A way to involve the whole of Italy in these solemn celebrations in memory of the one who made Italian culture great in the world.
(Photo Ravenna Cultura Facebook page; Sergio Mattarella Facebook page)
