Uffizi Gallery launches online exhibition of rare Dante illustrations for 700th anniversary

The Uffizi Gallery in Florence is releasing 88 rarely exhibited illustrations of Dante's The Divine Comedy online to commemorate the 700th anniversary of the poet's death in 1321. Created by Renaissance artist Federico Zuccari between 1586 and 1588, the pencil-and-ink drawings depict Dante's allegorical journey through the afterlife and have been publicly displayed only twice before, in 1865 and 1993. Originally bound as a single volume, the works entered the museum's collection in 1738. The online exhibition, titled A Riveder le Stelle (To See the Stars Again), is being launched as COVID-19 cases rise across Europe, despite vaccination efforts. Dante's epic poem, written in the fourteenth century, is regarded as the most significant literary work of the Middle Ages and a masterpiece of the Italian language. The Uffizi's initiative aligns with a contemporary revisiting of Dante's themes during the pandemic, referencing the poet's observation that 'The path to paradise begins in hell.'