ATHENS — A travelling exhibition commemorating 700 years since Dante Alighieri's death will be open to the public at the Italian Educational Institute of Athens from June 9 to 30.
Athens is the second European city after Belgrade to host the show, titled "Dante Ipermoderno – Dante illustrated in the world, 1983-2021". After the Greek capital, it will travel to Prague, Moscow and London, before its final show in Madrid.
Five internationally known illustrators took it upon themselves to depict the shocking images described by Dante in his monumental work "The Divine Comedy": Paolo Barbieri, Monica Baisner, Domenico Palantino, Tom Phillips and Emiliano Ponzi.
The artists bring new life to the poet's descriptions of Hell and Purgatory, showing that Dante "transcends geographical boundaries and frameworks of thought, reaching our present as a protagonist, and continuing to give rise to reflections, guide artists in their creative path, provoke discussions and stimulate critical thinking," said Italian Ambassador to Greece Patrizia Falcinelli.
The exhibition is curated by Giorgio Bazzi, professor of contemporary art at the University of Florence.
The Italian Educational Institute of Athens is located at 47 Patission Avenue, and entrance to the exhibition is free of charge.