Introduction
Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, an epic poem of 14,223 lines written in the Italian vernacular, achieved immediate success throughout Italy and Europe due to its complex and sophisticated intermingling of theology, history, politics, classical tradition, autobiography and popular culture. The fact that it could be understood by common people added to its success. Boccacio was Dante’s first promoter in every sense: in 1373 the City of Florence charged him with delivering a series of lectures or readings on the Commedia, which became his extended Commentary on 18 cantos of the Inferno. This is a tradition which continues today in the form of a yearly Lectura Dantis series that takes place in Florence in the Badia, a municipal building where the Priors resided during
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Citation: di Scipio, Giuseppe. "Divina Commedia". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 May 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5536, accessed 23 November 2024.]
