On the website of the Uffizi Gallery, there’s a fascinating online exhibition dedicated to the sixteenth-century illustrations of the Divine Comedy by Federico Zuccari. In March, the exhibition dedicated to Dante by Giuseppe Penone titled ‘Alberi in-versi’ will be inaugurated, composed of a large installation in Piazza della Signoria. In the second half of the year, the Galileo Museum present ‘From Hell to the Empire - Dante's world between science and poetry’, focusing on Dante's scientific skills.

Two important exhibitions will be held at the Bargello Museum starting from March: "Honorable and ancient citizen of Florence" from March 23 to July 25, 2021, looking at the relationship between Dante and his Florence and the years following the death of the great poet, reconstructed through manuscripts and works of art from all over the world.

"The admirable vision - Dante and the Comedy in the symbolist imagination" from September 23, 2021 to January 9, 2022 explores the theme of Dante's fate in the mid-late 19th century, due also to the influences of the Risorgimento politics which identified him as the “precursor of the unity and freedom of Italy”. It was in Palazzo del Bargello, the historic seat of the supreme judicial authority, that the sentence of his exile was issued. Today, you can find the oldest portrait of Dante, a fresco by Giotto and his workshop.

The Maggio Musicale Fiorentino has three major projects in the pipeline: a reading of the entire Divine Comedy across 20 evenings at the Teatro della Pergola, concerts in the three cities of Dante (Ravenna, Verona and Florence) conducted by Riccardo Muti with the participation of the Maggio Musicale choir and the Verona Arena, and the performance of a new composition dedicated to Dante, conducted by Zubin Mehta on the occasion of the inauguration of the New Auditorium.

The Accademia della Crusca is planning a preview of the Dante exhibition at the Museum of the Italian Language in the complex of Santa Maria Novella; the Italian Dante Society, the main libraries (Medicea-Laurenziana, Riccardiana and National) and archives (State and Municipal) will organize a series of important documentary exhibitions. A dance performance by the Virgilio Sieni Company is scheduled in Piazza Signoria while the Casa di Dante Museum will be invigored with innovative multimedia technologies and performances.

Finally, on March 25, 2021, the date that scholars identify as the beginning of the otherworldly journey of the Divine Comedy, Dantedì will be celebrated, the day recently dedicated to Dante Alighieri by the government. In Florence, Dante readings will be held inside the Baptistery ("my beautiful San Giovanni" as defined by Dante), while on May 14 a solemn procession of flags will pay homage to the statue of Dante in Piazza Santa Croce, starting from Piazza Santo Spirito.

For more information see the complete program.

Do you want to discover Dante's Florence?

Find here the wonderful itineraries through the historic center, following the footsteps of the Poet as a citizen in Florence, as a politician and as a believer.