O Tosco”, Farinata degli Uberti addresses Dante in Canto X of the Inferno. Tosco, not Tuscan. There’s not a corner of this land that does not feature in the ‘Divine Comedy’. Dante represents a ubiquitous, deep-rooted toscanità, as seen in his firsthand knowledge and the 100 places in Tuscany mentioned in his terzine. I’d like to add a 101st place, Romagna Toscana, which was part of Tuscany until 1925.

Dante is the cultural father of all of Tuscany, but he’s more than that. He’s a friend, a relative who’s both near and far, a familiar presence even to those who haven’t studied literature. That’s why Tuscany will not be holding back on the 700th anniversary of his death. Despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic and the worries that hang over us, we will continue to valorize this milestone year and its symbolic value. Although we won’t be able to organize large public events and cultural initiatives, utmost attention will be paid to the poet, his work and cultural legacy. All the 101 places in Tuscany that Dante mentions in the Commedia will be involved in the celebrations, hosting all sorts of initiatives between June and September aimed at rediscovering and promoting this bond, also for the purposes of tourism. We’ll have an app featuring the events and a website for the cultural and tourism itineraries. There’ll be a documentary about Dante’s life by national public broadcaster Rai and a photographic exhibition based on the Alinari archives, which will begin its journey in the Palazzo della Presidenza Regionale.

There’ll be two symbolic dates: March 25, otherwise known as Tuscan New Year (and is still celebrated as such in Pisa), which Dante chose as the start date of his otherworldly journey and which will be celebrated this year as Dantedì; and May 14, the date used in 1865 to mark the 600th anniversary of the poet’s birthday, when flagbearers paraded to piazza Santa Croce. It was the start of Florence’s years as the capital of Italy and I sincerely hope that the health situation is such this May 14 that we will be able to organize a solemn procession to renew the tradition, to start over symbolically with Dante and the history of Florence.