Dear Editor:
The Italian government has designated March 25 as “Dantedi,” a day set aside to honor and pay tribute to Dante Alighieri, “Il Sommo Poeta” (“The Supreme Poet”).
This year, 2020, commemorates the 700th anniversary of the completion of “The Divine Comedy,” Dante’s epic masterpiece depicting a journey in the afterlife. Unfortunately, Dante died in 1321, some 150 years before “The Divine Comedy” was published.
Dante di Alighiero degli Aligheri – Dante – influenced the literary works of John Milton, Geoffrey Chaucer, and Alfred Tennyson. His depictions of “Inferno” (Hell), “Purgatorio” (Purgatory), and “Paradiso” (Heaven) have inspired western art for centuries.
Dante Alighieri symbolizes many things to the Italian people. He is the universal thread that has been woven into the spiritual, moral, and social fabric of every Italian. Dante has been the heart and soul of Italian unity, even during to most troubling of times. Dante is the Father of the Italian Language. Essentially, Dante represents everything that is great and noble about Italy and the Italian people.
Dante’s lesson to all of us: “Segui il tuo corso e lascia dir le gente” (“Follow your own road and let people talk”). Basically, Dante is telling us to follow our own star. And, when things become challenging, Dante reminds us that “The path to Paradise begins in Hell.”
“Dantedi” reflects the spirit of the Fourth Canto of the “Inferno,” depicting Virgil’s welcome as he returns among the great ancient poets spending eternity in Limbo: “L’ombra sua torna, ch’era dipartita” (“His spirit, which has left us, returns”). Indeed, “Dantedi” is an opportunity for us to welcome Dante’s spirit back to our society – a spirit that encompasses innovation, imagination, inspiration, and intensity. Taken together, those “4-i’s” are the essential ingredients for hope and a brighter future for ourselves and our posterity.
John Di Genio and Albert J. Cupo
