Today, March 25, the world celebrates its first Dantedì, a day of events, performances, and readings dedicated to the greatest poet of all time.
The date marks the Feast of the Annunciation in the Catholic calendar and for centuries in Florence it marked the beginning of the year and Dante – good Florentine as he was – decided to “embark” on his otherworldly journey precisely on that day.
Given the Coronavirus emergency, all initiatives are being held remotely. In this spirit, I would like to invite you to join me for a conversation with Professor Alison Cornish, Chair of our Department of Italian Studies, renowned Dante Scholar and Acting President of the Dante Society of America. The conversation will focus on Dante’s presence in contemporary culture, his remarkable success among American college students, what he can teach us in this time of crisis and much more.
The conversation will be broadcast live on our Facebook page today Wednesday, March 25 at 5 p.m. EST and will last about 20/30 minutes. You will be able to submit comments and questions that we will be happy to answer live or after the event.
As you know, Dante “è di casa alla Casa”, as he’s one of the most frequent protagonists of our programs. Dantedì might be a good occasion for you to explore the dozens of videos in our multimedia archive dedicated to him, from scholarly lectures and symposia to the series of talks Dante and…, to theatrical performances.
I hope you will join Professor Cornish and me to celebrate Dantedì together.
