The Italian Institute of Culture in Belgrade is holding its “Italian Language Week” with an edition devoted to Dante, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his death. A series of events will be organized starting October 24 with the inauguration of an photographic exhibition by Francesco Amorosino entitled “The Forest and the Stars”, the Italian artist’s tribute to the infinite inspiration offered by the Divine Comedy, which visitors can view until November 12 at the Institute.
The exhibition is organized as part of the Belgrade Photo Month festival of photography. In “The Forest and the Stars”, different projects by the Italian photographer are connected to Dante’s voyage in the other world.
As they explore the exhibition, visitors will be able to enjoy music composed for the projects by Stefano G. Falcone, and read quotes from the Divine Comedy. The author of the photographs, Francesco Amorosino, uses his camera to investigate the ways in which people perceive reality through themes like superstition, religion and the search for freedom. He uses both analogue and digital photography in a view of hybridization also with other forms of art like music, sculpture and video.
The program presented by the Institute of Culture in Belgrade will commence on October 21 with a Lectura Dantis. “Amore and ‘l cor gentil sono una cosa”: Dante Alighieri from the “Vita nuova” to the “Commedia”, is an event produced in collaboration with the Embassy of the Swiss Confederation in Serbia and the Italian Department of the University of Belgrade, and is divided into three parts. In the first, Snežana Milinković, following the evolution of the literary production and biographical vicissitudes experienced by Dante, will offer a reflection on the personality of the artist, not only as a poet but also as an intellectual and as a man. This will be followed by a preview of the academic project “Digital Dante”, a website that will contain the text of the Divine Comedy translated into Serbian, with the original in Italian on the facing page, including all the biographical and bibliographic references. Next will come a Lectura Dantis, during the course of which several guests will take turns reading triplets of the “Divine Comedy” in Italian.
Finally, an online competition entitled “Dante, the Italian” will be available on the social platform of the Italian Institute of Culture. Anyone can enter by sending a brief video (60 seconds or less), or a text (up to 200 words) in Italian or Serbian, no later than October 24, on the subject “Dante, the Italian”. The video can be sent by email, indicating on the subject line “Dante, the Italian” to nedeljaitalijanskogjezika@gmail.com.