Daily readings at tomb honor Dante 700 years after his death

As she has each evening for the last eight months, Giuliana Turati opened her well-worn copy of Dante's "Divine Comedy" as the last of 13 peels of a church bell reverberated around the tomb of the great Italian poet.

Italy is honoring Dante Alighieri — who died in exile from Florence on Sept. 13, 1321 — in myriad ways on the 700th anniversary of his death. Those include new musical scores and gala concerts, exhibits and dramatic readings against stunning backgrounds in every corner of the country. Pope Francis has written an Apostolic letter, the latest by a pope examining Dante's relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.

But nowhere is the tribute more intimate than before his tomb, which was restored for the anniversary, as dusk falls each day in the city of Ravenna, a former Byzantine capital.

Turati, a life-long Ravenna resident, comes to listen as volunteer Dante-lovers read a single canton, following along in the copy of the "Divine Comedy" inscribed with the year she studied the poet's masterwork in school: 1967.

"There is always something new," Turati said. "Even if you have read and reread it, Dante always has something new to tell us."

The daily reading, part of a yearlong celebration of Dante that started in September, is intended to connect ordinary people -- residents and tourists, scholars and the uninitiated -- with the "Divine Comedy" as an appreciation by the city he adopted while in exile.

Copies of the "Divine Comedy" in 60 languages are housed nearby, and organizers envision they also will be read by foreign tourists as soon as post-pandemic travel resumes.

"Reading Dante is perhaps the truest and most profound homage that we can offer," said Francesca Masi, secretary general for Ravenna's...