March 25 marked the first annual celebration of Dantedì, when Italy pays tribute to Dante Alighieri.

Every culture, society and country creates its own network through art, literature, the symbols of the national identity and, of course, the language. In the case of Italian, a tribute to Dante the father of the Italian language is mandatory. He was the first great creator of human and cultural “networks” due to his exile and his artistic ability to create great poetry. March 25th is the day on which Dante’s otherworldly journey begins in his Divine Comedy. That’s why this date has been chosen to celebrate from now on the international day dedicated to the Supreme Poet, Dantedì.

Organized prior to the Covid-19 emergency, the commemoration embraced Dante as a symbol of Italian culture and language to unite the country at this difficult time. The celebrations continued all day long, online and via social media, with performances and readings tagged with #Dantedì and #IoleggoDante. School teachers throughout Italy added Dante to their virtual lessons on March 25 and everyone in Italy was invited to read the beginning of the Divine Comedy from their windows at 6pm.

On the occasion of the national day dedicated to our Sommo Poeta, one of our beloved instructors dedicated a few passages of “Paolo e Francesca” from Canto V of Inferno, the first volume of La Divina Commedia, to all ScuolaScuola students. Click on the images below to listen to Sebastiano Bazzichetto’s reading.