The Divine Comedy on stage for a day at the Boboli Gardens: theatrical journey in stages in the sign of Dante

On September 6, 2021, the Boboli Gardens will become an open-air theater, among trees and fountains, on the occasion of the show Tra Selva e Stelle: for the first time on the seven hundredth anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s death, a theatrical journey through the places and characters of the Divine Comedy will come to life in the Medici park. Dante’s journey through Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise will be proposed through thirty-six stops at thirty-six points in the Garden, and each stop will offer installations created especially for the “widespread theater” event.

Seventy-seven actors will be involved in the performance that took more than two years of work. At each stop along the route, characters from the Divine Comedy will talk about their condition of damnation, redemption or bliss; their roles will also be linked to their surroundings. In fact, all environments will be animated with installations and set designs that will allegorically represent the essential aspects of the three Canticles: death for Hell, salvation for Purgatory, and ascension to a higher state for Heaven.

The live performance will be held on the afternoon of Sept. 6 and is produced by the Uffizi Galleries and Archètipo Associazione Culturale under the direction of Riccardo Massai; it also has the patronage of the National Committee for the Celebration of the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death.

“Anniversaries are never random,” said Uffizi Galleries Director Eike Schmidt. “Here the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death is situated at a significant moment, in the year 2021, following the Inferno that we experienced in 2020. In this time of waiting, we thought of a performance on the Divine Comedy set within the Boboli Gardens, the green heart of modern Florence and the ideal setting for Dante’s path of damnation, redemption and bliss. In the 14th century the Boboli hill was still an undeveloped place, a ’dark forest’ from where it is not difficult to imagine the ’Ghibellin fuggiasco’ contemplating the center of the medieval city. In this natural space, the Uffizi Galleries invite the public to rediscover the voice of the Poet, following his guide, from tercet to tercet, in a path of ascension that will take viewers from Hell, through Purgatory, to the landing in Paradise: all together, to ’riveder le stelle’.”

The Divine Comedy on stage for a day at the Boboli Gardens: theatrical journey in stages in the sign of Dante

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.