Dante700 Australia National Seminar Series

Despite Dante Alighieri dying 700 years ago, his masterpieces are still read, reimagined and celebrated around the world. 

A collaborative initiative of the Dante Alighieri Societies of Australia to mark the 700th anniversary of the passing of Dante involved a series of presentations hosted in 2021. 

The series featured a range of eminent speakers including celebrated Australian poets and leading scholars in Dante studies and experts in the Italian language in Australia. Webinar presentations were held in Canberra and every state capital. 

The contributions from the leading national seminars were collected into a book titled “Dante Under the Southern Cross 2021” and were launched on 24 March 2022.. The volume brings together the remarkably diverse contributions made by speakers during the seminars. The resulting 300 page volume provides a window into the continuing influence of the poetry of Dante Alighieri in the cultural life of Australia.

The Dante700 Australia National Seminar Series “Dante under the Southern Cross” represents the work of many hands. It arises from the generous collaboration with the support of DAS Rome of the Dante Alighieri Societies in Australia who gave of their enthusiasm, their time, resources, collaboration, organisational skills and kindness to make possible a national series of seminars to mark the 700th anniversary of the passing of Dante Alighieri.

Franco Papandrea, President of Dante Alighieri Canberra acted as the coordinator for the initiative and expressed his appreciation for the success of the series. “The final event was the launch of a book collecting the work carried out as part of the National Dante700 Lecture Series. The book was presented by Michael Curtotti, who in 2020, during a presentation which we delivered on Zoom due to the lockdown, suggested that in Australia there we were missing a publication detailing how Dante has influenced Australia. In 2021, with the 700th Anniversary, Michael suggested the creation of this publication and we were extremely pleased to accept the suggestion and engage with all other Dante Societies in Australia in a nation-wide project.”

The national project was led by Dante Alighieri Society in Canberra. “We, in Canberra, took the lead to ensure that the project could come to fruition. Each Dante Alighieri Society was responsible for organising one event. We are thankful to the Embassy for their support and collaboration to bring about this initiative”.

The series of webinars discusses various key topics related to the influence of Dante in Australia, including poetry, the italian-speaking communities and the teaching of Italian language in Australia. “Paolo Totaro from Sydney, in his presentation, suggested that Dante and Dante’s works should be shared among the elderly in our community, even in retirement villages.” 

Among the contributors to the webinars were Prof. John Kinder, Prof. Gaetano Rando, Australian poet John Kinsella, Dr Drina Oldroyd, Dr Chris Mooney-Singh, Dr Paolo Totaro, Prof. Rodney Lokaj and Dr Theodore Ell. “A special event – noted Papandrea – was held with a focus on women and Dante during the Week of Italian Language, with Prof. Nerida Newbigin, Angela Scarino and Anna Rita Tamponi”.

Dante’s 700 Years celebrations were well received in the Australian community. “Dante continues to inspire and engage many. I was pleased to see such a positive response from the academic world as well as participation and initiatives beyond the Dante Alighieri Societies in Australia. An example of this is the work of many State Libraries on Dante and the Museo of the Divine Comedy created by CNA in Bossley Park.”