A great success for the inauguration of the Società Dante Alighieri in Orvieto
«O you who are in a little bark, eager to hear». A journey through Paradise with Professor Giuseppe Patota for the inauguration of the Dante Committee in Orvieto.
On the afternoon of Saturday 21 March, at the Auditorium “Gioacchino Messina” of Palazzo Coelli — home of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Orvieto — the announced lecture by Professor Giuseppe Patota on the Paradise took place, as part of the inauguration of the Orvieto Committee of the Società Dante Alighieri, in anticipation of the forthcoming Dantedì celebration.
Professor Roberta Menichetti, president of the Committee, opened the event by thanking Professor Patota for his participation and for his auspicious choice of theme. She then presented the projects of the newly founded association to the packed hall, starting with the Dantesque Itinerary through the historic centre, to be held on Dantedì, Wednesday 25 March.
Many upper secondary school students will take part in this initiative: the involvement of young people and the promotion of Dante’s legacy in our city are indeed among the main objectives of the Orvieto Committee, as is the commitment to finding cultural proposals that can engage the entire community.
She also highlighted the value of the Società Dante Alighieri’s broad international network for the development of future projects, conveying greetings from the president of the Prague committee and announcing contacts established with the Innsbruck and Bogotá branches. Professor Giancarlo Baffo then introduced his colleague from the University of Siena, Giuseppe Patota — full professor of Italian Linguistics, corresponding member of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, member of the Accademia della Crusca, and holder of an extensive publication record — underlining his commitment to the dissemination of culture.
A recent example is his edition for Laterza of “A tu per tu con la Commedia”, a text written “to make a magnificent and complex work accessible”. In his lecture, Professor Patota guided us on a journey through Paradise, making us feel like those few fortunate souls «in a little bark, eager to hear» whom the supreme poet addresses directly. Moving through the canto of Saint Francis, with a moving reading of its most significant passage — the marriage with Poverty — and the extraordinary astronomical periphrasis opening the thirteenth canto, he led us to the Candida Rosa of the Blessed and, finally, to the moment when Dante reaches the vision of God.
«Within its depths I saw ingathered, bound by love in one volume, the scattered leaves of all the universe». On this metaphor Professor Patota concluded his account, leaving all present with the desire to hear more. In her closing remarks the president acknowledged all those who made the inaugural event possible: the Dante Alighieri headquarters; the Municipality of Orvieto, for the use of the foyer of the Teatro Mancinelli; the director of the Biblioteca Comunale “Luigi Fumi”; the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio; and the Opera del Duomo. Her personal thanks went to Paolo Zanetti and Giancarlo Baffo, and to the young members Bianca Maria Nevi, Anna Pascariello, Gaia Montesanti, Giovanni Radicchi and Ilenia Costa.