On Tuesday, September 14, a non-stop reading of the entire Divine Comedy will take place at the Circolo de Bellas Artes in Madrid. The event is part of the Madrid’s Dante programme, with which the Spanish capital is commemorating the seventh centenary of the death of Dante Alighieri, one of the greatest writers in the history of world literature.
The reading will begin at 1 p.m. and will be attended by leading figures from the world of politics and culture, including: Meritxell Batet, President of the Congress of Deputies; Nadia Calviño, First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economy and Digital Transformation; Yolanda Díaz, Second Vice President of the Government and Minister of Labour and Social Economy; Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Minister of the Interior; Pilar Alegría, Minister of Education and Vocational Training; Miquel Iceta, Minister of Culture and Sport; Luis Planas, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food; José Luis Escrivá, Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps and personalities from the world of art and entertainment.
The reading will be broadcast live on radio and streamed on the website of the Club of Fine Arts https://www.circulobellasartes.com/humanidades/lectura-continuada-divina-comedia/, as well as on the social channels of the Italian Embassy in Madrid. There will also be live connections with numerous institutions. These include the Italian Cultural Institutes of Prague, Tirana, Barcelona, Montevideo and Lima, together with the Italian State School of Athens and the Department of Humanities of the University of Eastern Piedmont, as well as the Cervantes Institutes of Manila and Beijing.
The reading, which is organised by the Circulo de Bellas Artes, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Madrid and under the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Madrid, is one of over thirty activities included in Madrid’s Dante programme.
“This Dante reading is undoubtedly a further demonstration of Spain’s great friendship with Italy,” said the Italian Ambassador to Spain, Riccardo Guariglia, who will also read passages from the Divine Comedy. “There is no better Ambassador of Italy – he added – than the great Dante: the participation of the general public and of the highest political and cultural representatives of Spain is an eloquent testimony of the relevance and universality of Dante’s message that still speaks to the new generations around the world.”
