Dante’s Journey through the Visual Arts: La Divina Commedia

IN 2013, Alberto Di Giovanni, BA (St. Michael’s 1971), MA (Toronto 1973), and Caroline Morgan Di Giovanni, BA (St. Michael’s 1971), MA (Tufts 1972), established the Dante Collection in the John M. Kelly Library of the University of St. Michael’s College. It is comprised of books by and about Dante Alighieri, especially works that illustrate La Divina Commedia. The collection includes:

• facsimile editions of several early manuscripts of the Divine Comedy
• printed editions of the Divine Comedy, many with illustrations
• critical works about Dante
• works about the artists who have depicted the Divine Comedy (including Botticelli, Dali, Füssli, Giotto, Guttuso, Michelangelo, Raphael, Rossetti, Signorelli, and Sughi)

The collection of books is supplemented by a collection of fine art including oil and acrylic paintings, lithographs, and engravings. Among the artists represented are Laura Barbarini, Giovanni Bernardi, Mauro Bordin, Salvador Dalí, Raffaella Domestici, Renato Guttuso, Amos Nattini, Malek Pansera, and Alberto Sughi.