May 13 – The celebrations for Dante’s 750th birthday have officially begun, thanks to the Italian Cultural Institutes around the world. On Wednesday, May 20 at 6pm, the Sala Federico Fellini of the Budapest Institute will see Alessandro Quasimodo and Istvan Konya on lute propose a reading of two 14th century Italian poems. “Amor ch’a nullo amato amar perdona”…L’amore al tempo di Dante” is the title chosen for the meeting, during which Quasimodo will recite poems by Federico II, Iacopo da Lentini, Pier dalla Vigna, Odo delle Colonne, Dino Frescobaldi, Immanuel Romano, Chiaro Davanzati, Guido Guinizelli, Francesco Petrarca, Guido Cavalcanti, Cecco Angiolieri, Franco Sacchetti, and Dante Alighieri. “The conception of love among the stilnovisti – reads the presentation statement of the Institute – is rooted in courtly love, with an additional refinement of psychological inquiry and at the center the idea that the woman inspires in men a feeling of elevation and perfection. These themes and their variations are amply confirmed in the readings proposed by Alessandro Quasimodo, which offer a complete picture of love poems during Dante’s times.” (Red)
