La Divina Commedia

1. La Divina Commedia English Translation by H. W. Longfellow, Boston 1867 Illustratedbyfamous World artists Sandro Botticelli

2. La Divina Commedia isItalianmostimportantliterary work. Itwaswrittenby Dante Alighieri in the vernacularlanguage, insteadthan in Latin asitwasused in thattime. Therefore Dante isconsidered the Father of the ItalianLanguage. La Divina Commedia is a poemdivided in threeparts, whichillustrates Dante’s imaginarytravelintoHell, Purgatory and Paradise. Herehemeetsimportantwriters and philosophers of the past, politicalpersonalities, saints and sinners, butalso common people hehashad the chance tomeet in histurbolent life. The poemdepictsimmortalfigures, taken in the moment in whichtheirmortal life haschangedintoeternity, fixing forever the maintraits of theirpersonality. ….

3. In a difficult moment ofhis life, Dante understandshehaslosthisguidingprinciples and heimaginesheiswandering in a dark wood, surroundedbyferociousanimals. Hethusstarts a journeyinto the underworld, accompaniedbyVirgil, the Latin poet. Thisjourneywillbeboth a religious and a humanexperience and hewillbedeeplychangedbyit. Entering the gatesofHell, Dante sees a hugedoor: the sign on itwarnspassers-bytoforgetallformsofhope…. Hellis the placeofeternaljustice and eternalpunishmentwithouthopeof a finalredemption

4. Midway upon the journey of our lifeI found myself within a forest dark,For the straightforward pathway had been lost. Ah me! how hard a thing it is to sayWhat was this forest savage, rough, and stern,Which in the very thought renews the fear. Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vitami ritrovai per una selva oscura,ché la diritta via era smarrita. Ahi quanto a dir qual era è cosa duraesta selva selvaggia e aspra e forteche nel pensierrinova la paura! Canto I Joseph Anton Koch

5. Through me the way is to the city dolent; Through me the way is to eternal dole;Through me the way among the people lost. Justice incited my sublime Creator;Created me divine Omnipotence,The highest Wisdom and the primal Love. Before me there were no created things,’Only eterne, and I eternal last.All hope abandon, ye who enter in!" Per me si va ne la città dolente,per me si va ne l'etterno dolore,per me si va tra la perduta gente. Giustizia mosse il mio alto fattore;fecemi la divina podestate,la somma sapïenza e 'l primo amore. Dinanzi a me non fuor cose createse non etterne, e io etterno duro.Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate'. Canto II William Blake

6. In Dante’s hellsinners are dividedaccordingtotheirsins and the punishmentisoftensubtlyconnectedtotheirhumanexperience Wemeet Paolo and Francesca in Canto V, the twoadulterousloverslost in life because of their love and nowvictims of aneternalblowingwindwhichrepresentstheirpassionatesouls In Canto Xwefind Farinata Degli Uberti, animportantFlorentinewho in life was a heretic and did’t believe in the eternity of the soul. Nowheiseternallystuck in a tomb, butthisfactdoesn’t preventhimfromspeakingpassionatelywith Dante aboutpolitics.

7. Love, that on gentle heart doth swiftly seize,Seized this man for the person beautifulThat was ta'en from me, and still the mode offends me. Love, that exempts no one beloved from loving, Seized me with pleasure of this man so strongly, That, as thou seest, it doth not yet desert me; Love has conducted us unto one death;Cainawaiteth him who quenched our life!" These words were borne along from them to us. Amor, ch'al cor gentil ratto s'apprende,prese costui de la bella personache mi fu tolta; e 'l modo ancor m'offende. Amor, ch'a nullo amato amar perdona,mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,che, come vedi, ancor non m'abbandona. Amor condusse noi ad una morte.Caina attende chi a vita ci spense».Queste parole da lor ci fuor porte. Canto V Mosè Bianchi

8. «O Tosco che per la città del focovivo ten vai così parlando onesto,piacciati di restare in questo loco. La tua loquela ti fa manifestodi quella nobil patrïa natio,a la qual forse fui troppo molesto». Canto X "O Tuscan, thou who through the city of fire Goest alive, thus speaking modestly, Be pleased to stay thy footsteps in this place. Thy mode of speaking makes thee manifest A native of that noble fatherland, To which perhaps I too molestful was." Andrea del Castagno

9. Movingalong the differentscenarios in Hell, Dante meetsotherfamouspersonalities of histime An illustrioussinnerisUlysses, herepunishedforhisfraudingadvice. The greatGreekherotells Dante how, back toIthaca at the end of histen-year long adventures, heleftagainwithhisoldmatestopursueknowledgebeyond the limits of the knownworld…. At the end of a perilousjourney, theyfell down the border of the known world, afterhavingpassed the Pillars of Hercules…

10. "O frati", dissi, "che per cento miliaperigli siete giunti a l'occidente,a questa tanto picciola vigilia d'i nostri sensi ch'è del rimanentenon vogliate negar l'esperïenza,di retro al sol, del mondo sanza gente. Considerate la vostra semenza:fatti non foste a viver come bruti,ma per seguir virtute e canoscenza". Canto XXVI O brothers, who amid a hundred thousand Perils,' I said, 'have come unto the West, To this so inconsiderable vigil Which is remaining of your senses still Be ye unwilling to deny the knowledge, Following the sun, of the unpeopled world. Consider ye the seed from which ye sprang; Ye were not made to live like unto brutes, But for pursuit of virtue and of knowledge.'

11. Anotherpitiful scene opens in front of Dante’s eyes: a man eatingfromsomeone’s head . ItisCount Ugolino, Hehadbeenimprisoned in a dungeon withhischildren and died of hungerafterhavingwatchedhisownchildrendie and possiblyhavingeatentheirbodiestosurvive…

12. La bocca sollevò dal fiero pastoquel peccator, forbendola a' capellidel capo ch'elliavea di retro guasto. Poi cominciò: «Tu vuo' ch'io rinovellidisperato dolor che 'l cor mi premegià pur pensando, pria ch'io ne favelli. Ma se le mie parole esser dien semeche frutti infamia al traditor ch'i' rodo,parlar e lagrimar vedrai insieme. Canto XXXIII Auguste Rodin His mouth uplifted from his grim repast, That sinner, wiping it upon the hair Of the same head that he behind had wasted. Then he began: "Thou wilt that I renew The desperate grief, which wrings my heart already To think of only, ere I speak of it; But if my words be seed that may bear fruit Of infamy to the traitor whom I gnaw, Speaking and weeping shalt thou see together.

13. Dante feelscontrastingemotionstowards the people hemeets: anger, admiration, pity. At the end of his long journey in hell , heisfinallyallowedtoget out and admire once more a sky full of stars….. Salvator Dalì

14. Lo duca e io per quel cammino ascosointrammo a ritornar nel chiaro mondo;e sanza cura aver d'alcun riposo, salimmo sù, el primo e io secondo,tanto ch'i' vidi de le cose belleche porta 'l ciel, per un pertugio tondo. E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle. Canto XXXIV Gustave Dorè The Guide and I into that hidden road Now entered, to return to the bright world; And without care of having any rest We mounted up, he first and I the second, Till I beheld through a round aperture Some of the beauteous things that Heaven doth bear; Thence we came forth to rebehold the stars.