The 21st Week of the Italian Language in the World, which began today in China, is dedicated to “Dante, the Italian”, and coincides with the 700th anniversary of the death of the Supreme Poet. This cycle of events dedicated to the Italian Language was inaugurated in Beijing by the Italian Ambassador to China, Luca Ferrari, who stressed ‘the importance of the Italian language as a means for projecting the culture of our country throughout the world’ and recalled ‘how its teaching is widely disseminated and appreciated in China, thanks above all to the far-reaching activity of our diplomatic network and our cultural institutions, as well as the commitment of worthy local academics.’
The activities begin on Friday 15 October with the fourth edition of the National Competition of Verbal Rhetoric, organised by the Chinese Ital-Didactics Association, with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute of Beijing, on the theme “Dante, the Italian language, and me”, They continue with a rich programme of events including a presentation of the Chinese translation of the Divine Comedy by Prof. Wang Jun, Italianist and full professor at the University of Foreign Languages in Beijing; a reprint of the Chinese edition of “Dante and the Comedy” by the diplomat Raffaele Campanella; various film screenings about the Divine Comedy including the documentary by Marco Martinelli “The Sky over Kibera”; and,/ as a live sound accompaniment to the 1911 Italian silent film “L’inferno” by Francesco Bertolini, Giuseppe De Liguoro, and Adolfo Padovan, “L’Inferno film muto – Rimusicazione dal vivo per Sax & Live Electronics di Marco Castelli” [L’Inferno. Silent film – Live remixing for Sax & Live Electronics by Marco Castelli]; and a “Piano Recital by Giuseppe Andaloro” with a Dante theme. Throughout the week, the works created on the occasion of “Dipingiamo Dante”, the painting competition aimed at students of Chinese high schools where the Italian language is taught, will also be exhibited at the Italian Cultural Institute.
