Dante: the Uffizi's many initiatives to celebrate the Supreme Poet

On the occasion of Dantedì, the Uffizi Galleries will exhibit to the public from Tuesday, March 22, 2022 Andrea del Castagno’s fresco depicting the Supreme Poet, an early Renaissance masterpiece: it will be possible to admire it in the room that houses paintings by Filippo Lippi, Piero della Francesca and Paolo Uccello, in the company of many other famous masterpieces, such as Piero della Francesca’s Double Portrait of the Dukes of Urbino, Paolo Uccello’s Battle of San Romano, and the Madonna and Child with Angels (known as the Lippina).

The restoration of Andrea del Castagno’s Dante, carried out by specialists from the Opificio delle Pietre dure in Florence, was completed in March last year, and the work was among the protagonists of the major exhibition Dante. The Vision of Art organized by Fondazione della Cassa dei Risparmi di Forlì together with the Uffizi Galleries. This was followed by a stop in Castagno d’Andrea (Municipality of San Godenzo, province of Florence), the birthplace of Andrea del Castagno: here, as a guest of the Casentino Forest Park Center, it was the main attraction of the exhibition dedicated to the figure of Dante Alighieri, as part of the Terre degli Uffizi project. The masterpiece is part of the series of Illustrious Men and Women completed by Andrea del Castagno for the Villa Carducci in Legnaia: these fresco paintings, detached in the mid-19th century and brought to the Uffizi, have not been included in the Gallery’s normal visiting itinerary since 2004 and have remained in the spaces of the former Church of San Pier Scheraggio, open to visits only during special events and initiatives. The overall restoration project envisions the display of each character as the restoration work is completed.

But this is not the only initiative organized by the Uffizi for Dantedì. In fact, on March 25, the first episode of the museum’s social series dedicated precisely to Dante will debut. On the social channels of the Uffizi will be broadcast in weekly episodes Tra Selva e Stelle, the play on the Divine Comedy staged directed by Riccardo Massai in the Boboli Gardens on September 6, 2021. It consists of thirty-one episodes, filmed and edited by videomaker Federica Toci: each features characters from the three Cantiche, including Paolo and Francesca, Vanni Fucci, Pia de’ Tolomei, Piccarda Donati, Bernardo di Chiaravalle, and of course Beatrice. It will launch with a double episode, The Gates of Hell and Paolo and Francesca. At the end of the series, the full film will be posted on Youtube and on the Galleries’ website.

Finally, on March 23 at 5 p.m., as part of the Dialogues of Art and Culture lecture series, the Lectio Dantis (in English this year) by Professor Bill Sherman, director of the Warburg Institute in London, will be held in the Vasari Auditorium. The title of the lecture, which will be broadcast live on the Galleries’ Facebook channel, is Seeing Like Dante: Annotation and Illustration in the Dante Vallicelliano.

Meanwhile, the exhibition From Hell to Empyrean continues until May 29, 2022 at the Pitti Palace. Dante’s World Between Science and Poetry.

“Since the establishment of the Dantedì on March 25, 2020, the Uffizi Galleries have been committed to celebrating the Supreme Poet by offering initiatives ranging from exhibitions to theatrical performances, lectures and videos,” said Galleries Director Eike Schmidt. “These are occasions to remember its immense work, but above all to reflect on the enormous teaching it left in our culture and in each of us.”

Dante: the Uffizi's many initiatives to celebrate the Supreme Poet

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