Il Poeta Della Patria. Le Celebrazioni Del 1921 Per Il Secentenario Della Morte Di Dante

Since the beginnings of the 19th century in the new political and cultural circumstances, resulting from the French Revolution and the birth of nationalism, the myth of Dante Alighieri as a patriotic poet, a prophet of Italy struggling to rise and regain its independence, has been constructed. The final confirmation of Dante as a national poet took place in 1865 as the 600th anniversary of his birth was celebrated in the new reality of the Kingdom of Italy. The cult of Dante has been an obvious symbol of Italian-ness ever since. The 600th anniversary of his death, celebrated in 1921, in a country, although victorious in the Great War, at the same time affected by an unprecedented wave of social and political tensions, marked the peak of the idolatry of Dante. The paper analyses the symbolic and political implications of the celebrations held in three cities (Ravenna, Florence and Rome).