Ravenna Closes Its Monumental Year of Dante Celebrations

Ravenna's year-long celebration of the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri's death concludes with the opening of the new Museo Dante and a pop culture exhibition at MAR. The Museo Dante, located in the Franciscan cloister near the poet's tomb, features nine interactive rooms with 400 images and 250 texts, including a hall dedicated to Dante's evolving portrait, the original 1865 wooden ark that displayed his remains, and the "Dantis Ossae" box. The exhibition "Dante. Un'epopea POP" at MAR runs until January 9, 2022, curated by Giuseppe Antonelli (pop culture) and Giorgia Salerno (contemporary art). It showcases Dante's influence on pop culture through works by Gustave Doré, Mike Bongiorno, and videogames like Dante's Inferno, alongside contemporary pieces by Edoardo Tresoldi, Richard Long, Letizia Battaglia, Robert Rauschenberg, and Gilberto Zorio. The city's devotion to Dante was highlighted by a 2019 controversy when Ravenna Festival director Cristina Mazzavillani Muti proposed moving Dante's bones, sparking public outrage. The bones, hidden by Franciscan friars since the 16th century, were lost and rediscovered in 1865. They now rest in a neoclassical tomb by Camillo Morigia, where the mayor of Florence annually offers oil on September 13. Mayor Michele de Pascale instituted a perpetual reading of the Divine Comedy 364 days a year at the Mausoleum. The new Museo Dante and Casa Dante (still under completion) are part of a lasting cultural legacy for the city.