Dante Today

Citings & Sightings of Dante's Works in Contemporary Culture

“I am NiSi,” An Artist’s Blog

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NiSi’s-Eyes“Hello Beautiful people,

“NiSi’s Eyes is simply that; her vision, her self expression, her art.  Her goal is to educate women, beautify women, and empower women.  Denise ‘NiSi’ Lee does this by providing beauty services, self protection tools, poetic expression, visual arts and mentorship.

“I am NiSi (pronounced nuh-si) of NiSi’s Eyes, and this is your one stop shop for all things NiSi.

“‘Beauty awakens the Soul to ACT’ is a quote that speaks to the idea of when you look better, you feel better.  When a person is confident about their outer image, their self-esteem boosts.  My goal is to relax my client and let them enjoy their time of pampering, but also allow people’s true self expression to shine through.

“When we work together to enhance your beautiful canvas, you’re sure to receive makeup tips, a friendly demeanor, flawless results and be apart of my community of beauty/art lovers (it’s optional but you don’t want to miss out on the amazingness that’s in store).”    –Denise “NiSi” Lee, “I am NiSi,” nisiseyes, Retrieved February 3, 2023

Commemorative Coin Dedicated to Purgatorio (2022)

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dante-silver-coin

(Image: ANSA)

“As a part of the celebrations commemorating the 700th anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s death, the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato is minting the second coin dedicated to the Supreme Poet and this literary work.

“Issued today by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the coin celebrates the Divine Comedy, and this year is dedicated to Purgatorio.

“The Brilliant Uncirculated coin is made of silver, with a face value of 5 euro and a circulation of 6000 pieces.

“The second ‘proof version’ is in gold, with a face value of 20 euro and a circulation of 1500 pieces.

“Designed by artist Claudia Momoni, on one side the coin depicts the profile of Dante Alighieri, inspired by a Sandro Botticelli work (private collection), with the inscription ‘REPUBBLICA ITALIANA’, closed by a star.

“On the reverse is a depiction of Purgatory surrounded by the sea, the sun and stars, on the top of which a wall of fire rises in the Divine Forest. The verse ‘PURO E DISPOSTO A SALIRE A LE STELLE’, a verse that closes the Purgatory canticle skirts its edge. On the right is the value ‘5 EURO’; on the left, ‘R,’ identifying the Rome Mint; at the bottom, the date ‘2022’, the year the coin was issued, and the artist’s signature ‘MOMONI.’ The presence of colour is unique to the silver version.”    –“A commemorative coin has been dedicated to Dante’s Purgatorio on the 700th anniversary of his death”, Il Globo, September 14, 2022

St. Agrestis Liqueurs: Inferno and Paradiso

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“There’s a Brooklyn-based distillery called St. Agrestis that’s been around since 2014. They made their name with an amaro, but have since delved into other spirits. Notably for our purposes, they have a Campari-like bitter called ‘Inferno’ that’s pretty good and an aperitivo called ‘Paradiso.’ They also make bottled Negronis and Spritz using Inferno and Paradiso, respectively.

“Interestingly, the label design hints at a Dantean topography. Inferno and the Negroni both have labels that evoke layers or concentric circles. Paradiso and the Spritz both have a geometric pattern that uses triangles (Trinity?). The batched Negroni also comes in a 1.75L Franzia-style box with a spout (’20 Negronis in every box!’) and the canned spritz comes in a triangular 10-pack case.”   –Contributor Alex Cuadrado

Learn more about St. Agrestis’s products here.

Contributed by Alex Cuadrado (Ph.D., Columbia University)

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How to Cite

Coggeshall, Elizabeth, and Arielle Saiber, eds. Dante Today: Citings and Sightings of Dante’s Works in Contemporary Culture. Website. Access date.

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