2021 marks the 700th anniversary of the death the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri, considered “the Father of the Italian language”. Celebrations are planned all over the country, and in particular in the places most strongly connected with him, such as his birthplace, Florence, and Ravenna, where he died in exile in 1321.
One of the most original initiatives has been launched by the Accademia della Crusca, a leading institution worldwide for the study and preservation of the Italian language, which is honouring the poet's memory with the project “La Parola di Dante fresca di giornata° (A Fresh Dante word every day). This involves publishing a word chosen from the rich Dante vocabulary for every day of this year on its website. For example: the word for the 27th January was “lurco” (describing gluttonous eaters). The 25th January launched “pappa ' and “l'dindi” (meaning “food” and “money”).
The important Festival del Medioevo in Gubbio (Umbria), one Italy's best preserved medieval towns, scheduled between the 22nd - 26th September 2021, (Covid-19 permitting), will focus exclusively on Dante and his epoch. Each year, the festival attempts to shed light on different aspects of an era that is erroneously referred to as the ”Dark Ages”, but which was, in fact, a time of discovery and progress.
This year's edition “The Times of Dante”, will enjoy the patronage of the Società Dantesca, a prestigious institution founded in Florence in 1888 to preserve the memory of °the Divine Poet°.
Info: www.accademiadellacrusca.it www.festivaldelmedioevo.it