Italian Studies | Dante all’Altro Polo / Dante at the Other Pole
The Department of Italian Studies presents:
Dante all’Altro Polo / Dante at the Other Pole
Emeritus Professor Nerida Newbigin, University of Sydney
Nerida Newbigin will take you through the exhibition Dante all’Altro Polo / Dante at the Other Pole, curated by Nerida Newbigin and Julie Price, and open to visitors (COVID permitting) until June 2022. The exhibition commemorates the seventh centenary of the death of Dante Alighieri in 1321, and introduces the wealth Dante material held in the University Library, particularly in Rare Books and Special Collections, and to the abundance of Dante scholarship in Australia. On display are manuscripts and early editions of works that form the mental framework of Dante’s Commedia, luxury facsimiles of illustrated Dante manuscripts, and editions from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century that show how Dante has been received and retransmitted to new generations. Secondary themes are interwoven: the role of Dante’s De Vulgari Eloquentia in the Questione della Lingua; censorship of Dante even into the twentieth century for his hostility to the Papacy, and the appropriation of Dante for political and sectarian purposes; the history of printing and of book illustration; Dante’s influence in popular culture, fiction, cinema; and the extraordinary provenances and the benefactions that have brought the collection together.
Speaker Profile
Nerida Newbigin, Emeritus Professor of Italian Studies, taught at the University of Sydney from 1970 to 2008, and introduced several generations of students to the treasures of the Rare Books collection. Her particular interests in manuscripts and early printed books, textual editing, early literature and drama. Her recent publications include Acting on Faith: The Confraternity of the Gonfalone in Renaissance Rome (with Barbara Wisch), Saint Joseph’s University Press, 2013; an edition of the Codice Rustici (with Kathleen Olive), Olschki, 2015; and Making a Play for God: The Sacre Rappresentazioni of Renaissance Florence, Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies, 2021.
Related Exhibition
This seminar coincides with ‘Dante all’altro polo – Dante at the Other Pole’, a Rare Books and Special Collections exhibition at the University of Sydney’s Fisher Library. The exhibition celebrates the 700th year anniversary of Dante Alighieri’s legacy and impact by showcasing the poet’s work and materials. It is curated by Nerida Newbigin and Julie Price, with the support of The Department of Italian Studies, The Italian Cultural Institute Sydney and The Dante Alighieri Society of Sydney. Until June 18, 2022.
Free
Date/Time
March 3 (Thurs) 2022, starting 4pm (AEDT)
For more information, contact:
Associate Professor Francesco Borghesi – francesco.borghesi@sydney.edu.au
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