To see you again

Dante is the poet who invented Italy. He didn't just give us a language; above all it gave us an idea of ourselves and of our country: the "beautiful country" where we say "yes". A land united by culture and beauty, destined for a universal role: because it collects the legacy of the Roman Empire and the classical world; and it is the cradle of Christianity and humanism. Italy is not born of a war or diplomacy; comes from Dante's verses. Not only. Dante is the poet of women. It is only thanks to the woman - he writes - if the human species surpasses anything contained in the circle of the moon, that is to say on the Earth. Woman is God's masterpiece, the wonder of creation; and Beatrice, the beloved woman, for Dante is the wonder of wonders. She will be the one to lead him to salvation. But the poet also has extraordinary words for women unhappily in love, and for lives extinguished by men's violence: like that of Francesca da Rimini. Aldo Cazzullo wrote the novel of the Divine Comedy. He reconstructed Dante's journey into Hell verbatim. The best known encounters, from Ulysses to Count Ugolino. And the many cursed but grandiose characters that we have forgotten: the pride of Farinata degli Uberti, the bestiality of Vanni Fucci, the wisdom of Brunetto Latini, the wickedness of Filippo Argenti. At the same time, Cazzullo recounts - with frequent forays into history and current events - Dante's other journey: the one in Italy. The Divine Comedy describes Lake Garda, Scilla and Cariddi, the lost lands of Istria and Dalmatia, the Arsenal of Venice, the waters of Mantua, the "fortunate land of Puglia", the beauty and scandals of Rome. , Genoa, Florence and other Tuscan cities. Dante is strict with his compatriots. He denounces corrupt politicians, simonic Popes, bankers thieves, usurers, and all those who put private interest before public interest. But at the same time it exalts our humanity and our ability to resist and be reborn after misfortunes, wars, epidemics; until "seeing the stars again". A book on the greatest poet in the history of humanity, seven hundred years after his death, and on the birth of our national identity; to be aware of who we are and what we are worth.