Dante in the Vatican Museums
Dante in the Vatican Museums

Dante in the Vatican Museums

Dante Itinerary on the 7th centenary of the death of the Supreme Poet

3 May – 31 December 2021
Vatican Museums

In the year of Dante - the key figure of 2021 - the Pope’s Museums join of the world, and the Holy See in particular, in wishing to honour the memory of the Supreme Poet on the anniversary of the seventh centenary of his death (1321-2021).
There has always been a strong and profound bond between the Poet and the Petrine See, between his literary production and the Catholic faith. And while on this special anniversary Pope Francis dedicates the Apostolic Letter “Candor Lucis aeternae” to Allighieri, urging that Dante's literary and human heritage be made accessible beyond the classroom, so that "it is not merely to be read, commented on, studied", the Vatican Museums are responding to this solicitation with a virtual didactic project that is easy to access and use on the official website.

"Dante in the Vatican Museums" is the title of the educational exhibition initiative that is part of the celebrations promoted by the scientific-organisational Committee set up for the occasion by the Pontifical Council for Culture. The project aims to highlight the "Dantean" red thread that runs through the entire museum itinerary; a sort of permanent "path" through those works and visual testimonies that refer, directly or symbolically, to the Florentine poet and his masterpiece: the Divine Comedy.

The educational and cognitive experience on the Vatican Museums portal is supported by valuable didactic material - downloadable and printable - which can also be used as a practical mini-guide to take with you when you want to personally discover the places and symbols of Dante in the rooms and pontifical collections.
A rich photogallery will also allow you to familiarise yourself - at close range and with a wealth of details - with the works cited and commented on in the dossier (divided into the three kingdoms of Dante) edited by Adele Breda, who also coordinates the entire educational project.

The web launch of the Dante Itinerary, scheduled for Monday 3 May, coincides in an unexpected and unplanned way with the reopening of the Vatican Museums to the public after the long closure imposed by the pandemic emergency. We hope that this new beginning, under the sign of Dante will be harbinger of every good and may represent - as hoped by Pope Francis - "an invitation to hope, that hope of which Dante is a prophet".