Dante Celebrated as First Great Pro-European, Says Tajani

Rome: Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani marked ‘DanteD¬’ (Dante Day) by declaring Italy’s Supreme Poet as the first great pro-European. The Italian diplomatic consular network is commemorating Dante Alighieri, the most famous Italian poet, through various initiatives organized by embassies and cultural institutes worldwide, from Canberra to Beijing.

According to Ansa News Agency, Tajani, who also serves as deputy premier, emphasized Dante’s role as a foundational figure of European thought. He referenced Dante’s famed phrase from the Inferno, where Ulysses urges his men to pursue virtue and knowledge, as a cornerstone of civilization. Born in Florence in 1265, Dante is renowned for the ‘Divine Comedy’ and remains a beloved cultural icon.

The annual celebration of Italy’s greatest poet was officially established in 2020 by then culture minister Dario Franceschini. Cristina Manetti, president of the Casa Dante museum in Florence, also praised Dante’s vision of a culture that transcends borders. She noted the significance of remembering Dante as a spiritual father of Europe, alongside figures like Altiero Spinelli.

Manetti emphasized Dante’s vision of a unified European culture, as seen in his work ‘De Monarchia’, advocating for a single government and cultural unity. She stressed the importance of recognizing Dante’s contributions beyond the Italian language, especially during contemporary debates about European unity, referencing a dispute over Spinelli’s Ventotene Manifesto between Premier Giorgia Meloni and the opposition.