“Bernardo Provenzano, the former Godfather of the Sicilian Mafia who is serving life in prison, is spending his time reading Dante and writing to a pen pal. . . ‘I have read the Inferno,’ he wrote. ‘And especially where it says that on life’s journey, I found myself in dark woods, the right road lost.’ The former boss of all the bosses–who ordered the assassination of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, a pair of anti-Mafia investigators–told Bonavota that ‘when reason and force collide, force wins and reason is lacking.'” [. . .] –Malcolm Moore, The Telegraph, January 28, 2008
Contributed by Aisha Woodward (Bowdoin, ’08)
“Going to Hell with Benigni”
“Actor brings Dante to TV screens but attacks Italian politicians before presenting Divine Comedy.
MILAN — Unlike Adriano Celentano, Roberto Benigni did not let Romano Prodi off the hook. Yesterday evening, the Tuscan comic spared no one, although most of his barbs, including the funniest ones, were directed at Silvio Berlusconi and the Centre-right. But there were also jibes at [foreign minister — Trans.] Massimo D’Alema and [justice minister — Trans.] Clemente Mastella.” –Maria Volpe, Corriere della sera, November 30, 2007
Contributed by Patrick Molloy
“The Divine Therapy”
“‘It’s an inferno in here,’ yelled a middle-aged woman as she plunged into a foul-smelling hot spring in central Italy. She wasn’t the first to compare these scorching sulfur baths to Hell. In Canto XIV of Inferno, Dante wanders past a pool oozing with boiling red water and is reminded of these thermal spas about an hour north of Rome ‘whose waters are shared with prostitutes.’ . . .
That may explain why spas like Bulicame seem to hold more appeal for the locals. In addition to being free, its commercial-free atmosphere and ancient Roman ruins infuse the bath with history. Besides, Dante’s journey through Inferno and Bulicame eventually led him to Paradiso.” […] –David Farley, The New York Times, August 26, 2007
Dante Bar, Via del Corso, Rome
Photo contributed by Maxime Billick (Bowdoin, ’10)
Roberto Benigni’s “Tutto Dante”
See Roberto Benigni’s website Tutto Dante for more information and photos.
Contributed by Dorothea Herreiner
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