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Opening of events commemorating the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s passing

On September 5 and 13, the city of Ravenna will hold a series of events on the occasion of the upcoming 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s passing.

The events will commence on September 5th at 2:30pm EDT, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, with the solemn reopening of the poet’s tomb and of the nearby Quadrarco di Braccioforte. The ceremony will be preceded and followed by a performance of musical compositions that recall Dante’s oeuvre. The vocal ensemble Voces Suaves will perform Quivi sospiri by Luzzasco Luzzaschi from the Secondo libro dei madrigali a cinque voci (1576), in which verses from the Inferno Canto III are set to music; Io sono amore angelico by Joanne Metcalf from Il nome del bel fior (1988) will follow with verses from Paradise Canto XXXIII. Afterwards, in San Francesco Square, pianist Yulianna Avdeeva will perform Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata by Franz Liszt as Baritone Luca Micheletti and pianist Davide Cavalli will perform Il conte Ugolino from Inferno Canto XXXIII by Gaetano Donizetti. Actor Elio Germano will close the evening with a reading of Paradise Canto XXXIII.

On September 13th, within an articulated programme of events, particularly noteworthy is the dramatic choral project by Marco Martinelli and Ermanna Montanari (Ravenna Teatro – Teatro delle Albe) with the citizens of Cantiere Dante; the ceremony of the gifting of oil by the City of Firenze for the tomb’s votive lamp and the prolusion by Prof. Carlo Ossola, President of the National Dante Committee (Comitato dantesco nazionale).

The planned events in Ravenna on September 5 and 13 will be available for viewing in live streaming at https://www.ravennafestival.live/, in the designated Live Stream section at https://www.ravennafestival.live/live-stream/