In 2021, Dante Alighieri (Florence 1265 – Ravenna 1321) has been celebrated throughout Italy for the 700th anniversary of his death. Dante, author of the Divine Comedy universal masterpiece and “father of the Italian language”, is also symbol of Italian culture in the world and inexhaustible source of inspiration till nowadays. The complete programme of the events about Dante is on the Website 700dantefirenze.it (Italian version only), while, for events in the rest of Tuscany check here: Danteotosco700.it/en .
Although many events have already been performed, there are still some initiatives going on. Starting from March 25th - "Dantedì"- day of the beginning of Dante's journey to the afterlife, Feast of the Annunciation and ancient Florentine New Year's Day – many initiatives started. Opera di Santa Croce presents the new app "In Tuscany with Dante" and an original exhibition Dante, the eternal Poet an immersive journey into the Divine Comedy (through the famous illustrations by Gustave Doré, digitized and "revived" by Felice Limosani) in the building complex of Santa Croce.
The Bargello Museum proposes the exhibition: The admirable vision. Dante and the Divine Comedy in the symbolist imagination. The choice of the Bargello is significant: in this medieval palace, which hosts the most ancient portrait of Dante, the sentence of Dante’s exile was issued.
The Uffizi Gallery is proposing an interesting online exhibition, "To rebehold the stars", dedicated to the sixteenth-century illustrations of the Divine Comedy by Federico Zuccari. Another interesting exhiibition is taking place at Pitti Palace "Dall'Inferno all'Empireo - Il mondo di Dante tra scienza e poesia" (From Hell to the Empyrean – Dante’s world between science and poetry).
Recently a new itinerary in Florence, based on Dante's plaques has been created. Watch also the video. New multimedia technologies are now available visiting the Museo Casa di Dante (Dante's house).
Between the 19th and 20th centuries the myth of Dante became also the symbol of a Middle Ages revisited in a national key; this “Medieval Revival” spread to Florence and Tuscany, marking indelibly the architectural face of the city. Watch the video.
The Italian Dante Society, the main libraries of the city (Medicea-Laurenziana, Riccardiana and Nazionale) and the archives (Archivio di Stato and Archivio Comunale) are planning a series of documentary exhibitions.
Celebrating Dante means following his footsteps through the numerous places, also out of Tuscany, which were part of his life, and visiting cities of art and spectacular landscapes.
Tourist destinations strictly connected to the Supreme Poet (between Tuscany and Emilia Romagna) are gathered on the Website Le Vie di Dante, the only Italian project recommended by Lonely Planet as the Best in Travel 2021, in the category Sustainability. Even the Mugello administrators have dedicated a website to the Supreme Poet, Dante in Mugello, following his footsteps in this territory and putting him in relation with the various historical figures, protagonists of political and cultural events in the Mugello region.
