Originally Published: 2005-10-02

In March 1300, Dante was in Rome for the first Jubilee called by Pope Boniface VIII. Dante was 35 years old, and “Midway upon the journey of our life” (as his Divine Comedy opens) because at the time the average human lifespan was 70 years. Dante never reached that figure, dying when he was still only 56, but this in no way detracts from his work.
The reference to the Jubilee is important because that is when he set the imaginary beginning of a week-long journey that would lead him through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, looking for the lost “straightforward pathway.” Herein lies the meaning of the Comedy. The timeless success of this masterpiece is summarized in this allegorical journey that every person should take on the way to self-improvement. His own march towards salvation goes through the darkest evil (Hell), then remediable evil (Purgatory) and absolute good (Paradise). Nobody is righteous by birth, but everybody can become righteous with self-sacrifice and a long and difficult progress. So was at the beginning of time, so is today and will be tomorrow.
This imaginary trip may last one week, but it took Dante 17 years (from 1304 to 1321) to write it: the Comedy (original title) was only completed some months before the death of its author. It was written in “vernacular,”, the language spoken in humble homes and shops, but the language of the future, as Latin was used by a shrinking number of people. This was Dante’s great intuition, which was complemented by the greatness of his poetry. Giovanni Boccaccio realized it immediately, and added Divine to the original title.
This is the backdrop of the celebrations that will be held from October 2 onwards: with them, Centro Scuola e Cultura’s Alberto Di Giovanni and Dante Society’s Celestino De Iuliis will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Columbus Centre, the big house of Toronto’s Italians. They couldn’t choose a more fitting figure than Dante Alighieri as a symbol of “Italianhood” in Canada. Dante and his masterpiece, a best seller since 700 years ago.

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