In occasion of the first Dantedì (“Dante Day”), 25 March 2020 — a nationwide celebration dedicated to Dante Alighieri, approved by the Cabinet at the proposal of Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism Dario Franceschini — the Parco archeologico del Colosseo is taking part in this day dedicated to Dante Alighieri accepting the MIBACT’s suggestion by sharing a Dante-themed tour of the PArCo with the hashtags #Dantedì and #IoleggoDante (#IreadDante).

Starting at 12:00, we’ll all be called upon to read some Dante and rediscover the Divine Comedy. On our website www.parcocolosseo.it and on our @parcocolosseo Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube accounts viewers can retrace the PArCo’s history through some of Dante’s passages that narrate episodes of Roman history from its origins to the end of the empire.

The Roman Forum, the Palatine and the Imperial Forums all contain tangible and monumental evidence of some of the historical figures to whom Dante gave voice in the canticles of the Divine Comedy, together with the pagan deities worshiped in the temples throughout the central archaeological area. With the help of Dante’s tercets, viewers will go on a tour to rediscover the stories of Aeneas and the Palladium, the shepherd Cacus, the evolution of power through Caesar, the princeps Augustus and Justinian, Trajan’s humility before a widow, up to the essence of faith and the figure of St. Peter, and the many tutelary deities who have always inhabited the Roman pantheon.

To guide the public on their online tour, a cast of actors have generously lent their voices to our project, created and curated by archaeological officials Elisa Cella and Federica Rinaldi. Starting off the marathon is Massimo Ghini, followed by Giuseppe Cederna, Rosa Diletta Rossi and Giandomenico Cupaiuolo, who will accompany the public all day long, leading visitors to recognize the various parts of the PArCo through the words of the supreme poet from Florence.