166-469: The Divine Comedy ( Italian : Divina Commedia [diˈviːna komˈmɛːdja] ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri , begun c. 1308 and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of Western literature . The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife is representative of
332-685: A Europe of substantial literary and philosophical contact with the Muslim world, encouraged by such factors as Averroism ("Averrois, che'l gran comento feo" Commedia, Inferno, IV, 144, meaning "Averrois, who wrote the great comment") and the patronage of Alfonso X of Castile . Of the twelve wise men Dante meets in Canto ;X of the Paradiso , Thomas Aquinas and, even more so, Siger of Brabant were strongly influenced by Arabic commentators on Aristotle . Medieval Christian mysticism also shared
498-529: A backward path. Allegorically, the Inferno represents the Christian soul seeing sin for what it really is, and the three beasts represent three types of sin: the self-indulgent, the violent, and the malicious. These three types of sin also provide the three main divisions of Dante's Hell: Upper Hell, outside the city of Dis, for the four sins of indulgence ( lust , gluttony , avarice , anger ); Circle 7 for
664-614: A cross-section of the community. In 2016, it was announced that the Roman Missal had been revised to allow women to participate as part of the 12 in the Mandatum. Previously, only males partook of the rite. Others theorize that the English name "Maundy Thursday" arose from "maunds" or baskets or "maundy purses" of alms which the king of England distributed to certain poor at Whitehall before attending Mass on that day. Thus, "maund"
830-579: A detailed example in lines 94–105 of Canto II: A briefer example occurs in Canto XV of the Purgatorio (lines 16–21), where Dante points out that both theory and experiment confirm that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection . Other references to science in the Paradiso include descriptions of clockwork in Canto XXIV (lines 13–18), and Thales' theorem about triangles in Canto XIII (lines 101–102). Galileo Galilei
996-565: A huge number of civil servants and soldiers recruited from all over the country introduced many more words and idioms from their home languages— ciao is derived from the Venetian word s-cia[v]o ("slave", that is "your servant"), panettone comes from the Lombard word panetton , etc. Only 2.5% of Italy's population could speak the Italian standardized language properly when
1162-521: A kiss like Judas . But like the Thief will I confess Thee: Remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom . When necessary to replenish the sacrament for communing the sick at a time not following a divine liturgy , an additional Lamb (Host) is consecrated on this day, intincted , covered, and left to dry until Holy Saturday when it is divided, completely dried with a candle flame, and the pieces placed in
1328-471: A little over one million people in the United States speak Italian at home. Nevertheless, an Italian language media market does exist in the country. In Canada, Italian is the second most spoken non-official language when varieties of Chinese are not grouped together, with 375,645 claiming Italian as their mother tongue in 2016. Italian immigrants to South America have also brought a presence of
1494-657: A local vernacular. These dialects, as they are commonly referred to, evolved from Vulgar Latin over the course of centuries, unaffected by formal standards and teachings. They are not in any sense "dialects" of standard Italian, which itself started off as one of these local tongues, but sister languages of Italian. Mutual intelligibility with Italian varies widely, as it does with Romance languages in general. The Romance languages of Italy can differ greatly from Italian at all levels ( phonology , morphology , syntax , lexicon , pragmatics ) and are classified typologically as distinct languages. The standard Italian language has
1660-574: A modern reading of the poem in his labyrinthine "Conversation on Dante". Erich Auerbach said Dante was the first writer to depict human beings as the products of a specific time, place and circumstance, as opposed to mythic archetypes or a collection of vices and virtues, concluding that this, along with the fully imagined world of the Divine Comedy , suggests that the Divine Comedy inaugurated realism and self-portraiture in modern fiction. In T. S. Eliot's estimation, "Dante and Shakespeare divide
1826-535: A noun refers to a small basket held out by maunders as they maunded. Other sources reject this etymology. Maundy Thursday initiates the Paschal Triduum , the period which commemorates the passion , death , and resurrection of Jesus . This period includes Good Friday and Holy Saturday , and ends on the evening of Easter Sunday. The Mass of the Lord's Supper or service of worship is normally celebrated in
SECTION 10
#17327653947341992-658: A poetic and literary origin in the works of Tuscan writers of the 12th century, and, although the grammar and core lexicon are basically unchanged from those used in Florence in the 13th century, the modern standard of the language was largely shaped by relatively recent events. However, Romance vernacular as language spoken in the Italian Peninsula has a longer history. In fact, the earliest surviving texts that can definitely be called vernacular (as distinct from its predecessor Vulgar Latin) are legal formulae known as
2158-417: A renewed interest in linguistics in the 16th century, sparked a debate that raged throughout Italy concerning the criteria that should govern the establishment of a modern Italian literary and spoken language. This discussion, known as questione della lingua (i.e., the problem of the language ), ran through the Italian culture until the end of the 19th century, often linked to the political debate on achieving
2324-575: A result. Starting in late medieval times in much of Europe and the Mediterranean, Latin was replaced as the primary commercial language by languages of Italy, especially Tuscan and Venetian. These varieties were consolidated during the Renaissance with the strength of Italy and the rise of humanism and the arts . Italy came to enjoy increasing artistic prestige within Europe. A mark of
2490-554: A seven-vowel system, consisting of /a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/ , as well as 23 consonants. Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian phonology is conservative, preserving many words nearly unchanged from Vulgar Latin . Some examples: Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday , among other names, is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet (Maundy) and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with
2656-479: A single language is that they have evolved so that they are no longer mutually intelligible ; this diagnostic is effective if mutual intelligibility is minimal or absent (e.g. in Romance, Romanian and Portuguese), but it fails in cases such as Spanish-Portuguese or Spanish-Italian, as educated native speakers of either pairing can understand each other well if they choose to do so; however, the level of intelligibility
2822-471: A source in the Divine Comedy in the twentieth century. Besides Dante's fellow poets, the classical figure that most influenced the Comedy is Aristotle . Dante built up the philosophy of the Comedy with the works of Aristotle as a foundation, just as the scholastics used Aristotle as the basis for their thinking. Dante knew Aristotle directly from Latin translations of his works and indirectly quotations in
2988-662: A specific moral scheme, subdivided into three subcategories, while two others of greater particularity are added to total nine. For example, the seven deadly sins that are cleansed in Purgatory are joined by special realms for the late repentant and the excommunicated . The core seven sins within Purgatory correspond to a moral scheme of love perverted, subdivided into three groups corresponding to excessive love ( Lust , Gluttony , Greed ), deficient love ( Sloth ), and malicious love ( Wrath , Envy , Pride ). In central Italy's political struggle between Guelphs and Ghibellines , Dante
3154-513: A united Italian state. Renaissance scholars divided into three main factions: A fourth faction claimed that the best Italian was the one that the papal court adopted, which was a mixture of the Tuscan and Roman dialects. Eventually, Bembo's ideas prevailed, and the foundation of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence (1582–1583), the official legislative body of the Italian language, led to
3320-577: A wheel, all at one speed, by the Love which moves the sun and the other stars. According to the Italian Dante Society, no original manuscript written by Dante has survived, although there are many manuscript copies from the 14th and 15th centuries – some 800 are listed on their site. Coluccio Salutati translated some quotations from the Comedy into Latin for his De fato et fortuna in 1396–1397. The first complete translation of
3486-716: Is Vespers combined with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great at which is read a Composite Gospel, primarily taken from Matthew , but with episodes inserted from John ( the Washing of the Feet ) and Luke ( Jesus sweating blood ), and many of the normal hymns of the Divine Liturgy are substituted with the following troparion : Of Thy Mystical Supper, O Son of God, accept me today as a communicant; for I will not speak of Thy Mystery to Thine enemies, neither will I give Thee
SECTION 20
#17327653947343652-427: Is 89% with French, 87% with Catalan , 85% with Sardinian , 82% with Spanish, 80% with Portuguese , 78% with Ladin , 77% with Romanian . Estimates may differ according to sources. One study, analyzing the degree of differentiation of Romance languages in comparison to Latin (comparing phonology , inflection , discourse , syntax , vocabulary , and intonation ), estimated that distance between Italian and Latin
3818-691: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . Italian is the least divergent language from Latin , together with Sardinian (meaning that Italian and Sardinian are the most conservative Romance languages). Spoken by about 85 million people, including 67 million native speakers (2024), Italian is an official language in Italy , San Marino , Switzerland ( Ticino and
3984-513: Is a 1967 restoration of the rite recorded in the early 200s by the historian Hippolytus who writes of a ceremony taking place during the Easter Vigil at which two holy oils were blessed and one was consecrated. In the decree renewing this rite Pope Paul VI said, "The Chrism Mass is one of the principal expressions of the fullness of the bishop's priesthood and signifies the closeness of the priests with him." The Holy Oils are: The oil of
4150-482: Is a celebration of the institution of the priesthood. During the Mass, those present are called to renew their baptismal promises. Priests/ministers and deacons also reaffirm their ministry by renewing the promises made at their ordination. The Mass takes its name from the blessing of the holy oils used in the sacraments throughout the year, which are then given to priests to take back to their parishes. The service
4316-547: Is a custom dating back to King Edward I . The red purse contains regular currency and is given in place of food and clothing. The white purse has money in the amount of one penny for each year of the Sovereign's age. Since 1822, rather than ordinary money, the Sovereign gives out Maundy coins , which are specially minted 1, 2, 3 and 4 penny pieces, and are legal tender. The service at which this takes place rotates around English and Welsh churches, though in 2008 it took place for
4482-471: Is also a product of Scholasticism , especially as expressed by St. Thomas Aquinas. This influence is most pronounced in the Paradiso , where the text's portrayals of God, the beatific vision, and substantial forms all align with scholastic doctrine. It is also in the Paradiso that Aquinas and fellow scholastic St. Bonaventure appear as characters, introducing Dante to all of Heaven's wisest souls. Despite all this, there are issues on which Dante diverges from
4648-759: Is also spoken by a minority in Monaco and France, especially in the southeastern part of the country. Italian was the official language in Savoy and in Nice until 1860, when they were both annexed by France under the Treaty of Turin , a development that triggered the " Niçard exodus ", or the emigration of a quarter of the Niçard Italians to Italy, and the Niçard Vespers . Giuseppe Garibaldi complained about
4814-583: Is connected to the Latin mendicare , and French mendier , to beg. A source from the Shepherd of the Springs, Lutheran Church likewise states that, if the name was derived from the Latin mandatum , we would call the day Mandy Thursday, or Mandate Thursday, or even Mandatum Thursday. The term "Maundy" comes from the Latin mendicare , Old French mendier , and English maund , which as a verb means to beg and as
4980-399: Is disputed), Dante explains that this reference to Israel leaving Egypt refers both to the redemption of Christ and to "the conversion of the soul from the sorrow and misery of sin to the state of grace." Appropriately, therefore, it is Easter Sunday when Dante and Virgil arrive. The Purgatorio demonstrates the medieval knowledge of a spherical Earth . During the poem, Dante discusses
5146-634: Is forbidden until after Thomas Sunday . Oriental Orthodox Churches celebrate Covenant Thursday during Holy Week (based on their local calendars). They offer praises and vespers every day of week, and on Thursday and Saturday they remain in church praising God and reading about the First Liturgy and Judas' Betrayal. On Saturday they sing praises for the Entrance of the Messiah in Hades freeing all of
Divine Comedy - Misplaced Pages Continue
5312-534: Is higher than that between Sardinian and Latin. In particular, its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian . As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive. Italian is the official language of Italy and San Marino and is spoken fluently by the majority of the countries' populations. Italian is the third most spoken language in Switzerland (after German and French; see Swiss Italian ), although its use there has moderately declined since
5478-402: Is known to have lectured on the Inferno , and it has been suggested that the poem may have influenced some of Galileo's own ideas regarding mechanics. Without access to the works of Homer , Dante used Virgil, Lucan , Ovid , and Statius as the models for the style, history, and mythology of the Comedy . This is most obvious in the case of Virgil, who appears as a mentor character throughout
5644-460: Is markedly lower between Italian-Spanish, and considerably higher between the Iberian sister languages of Portuguese-Spanish. Speakers of this latter pair can communicate with one another with remarkable ease, each speaking to the other in his own native language without slang/jargon. Nevertheless, on the basis of accumulated differences in morphology, syntax, phonology, and to some extent lexicon, it
5810-469: Is more psychological than that of the Inferno , being based on motives, rather than actions. It is also drawn primarily from Christian theology, rather than from classical sources. However, Dante's illustrative examples of sin and virtue draw on classical sources as well as on the Bible and on contemporary events. Love, a theme throughout the Divine Comedy , is particularly important for the framing of sin on
5976-504: Is neither a co-official nor a protected language in these countries. Some speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both Italian (either in its standard form or regional varieties ) and a local language of Italy , most frequently the language spoken at home in their place of origin. Italian is a major language in Europe, being one of the official languages of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and one of
6142-462: Is not difficult to identify that for the Romance varieties of Italy, the first extant written evidence of languages that can no longer be considered Latin comes from the ninth and tenth centuries C.E. These written sources demonstrate certain vernacular characteristics and sometimes explicitly mention the use of the vernacular in Italy. Full literary manifestations of the vernacular began to surface around
6308-645: Is often derived from the phraseology of the Vulgate . This was the only translation of the Bible Dante had access to, as it was one the vast majority of scribes were willing to copy during the Middle Ages. This includes five hundred or so direct quotes and references Dante derives from the Bible (or his memory of it). Dante also treats the Bible as a final authority on any matter, including on subjects scripture only approaches allegorically. The Divine Comedy
6474-648: Is the main working language of the Holy See , serving as the lingua franca (common language) in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta . Italian has a significant use in musical terminology and opera with numerous Italian words referring to music that have become international terms taken into various languages worldwide. Almost all native Italian words end with vowels , and
6640-474: Is the official name of the day in the civil legislation of England and the Philippines. The day has also been known in English as Shere Thursday (also spelled Sheer Thursday ), from the word shere (meaning "clean" or "bright"). This name might refer to the act of cleaning, or to the fact that churches would switch liturgical colors from the dark tones of Lent , or because it was customary to shear
6806-425: Is thirty-five years old, half of the biblical lifespan of seventy ( Psalms 89:10, Vulgate), lost in a dark wood (understood as sin), assailed by beasts (a lion , a leopard , and a she-wolf ) he cannot evade and unable to find the "straight way" ( diritta via ) to salvation (symbolized by the sun behind the mountain). Conscious that he is ruining himself and that he is falling into a "low place" ( basso loco ) where
Divine Comedy - Misplaced Pages Continue
6972-549: Is used, and the town of Chipilo near Puebla, Mexico; each continues to use a derived form of Venetian dating back to the 19th century. Other examples are Cocoliche , an Italian–Spanish pidgin once spoken in Argentina and especially in Buenos Aires , and Lunfardo . The Rioplatense Spanish dialect of Argentina and Uruguay today has thus been heavily influenced by both standard Italian and Italian regional languages as
7138-501: The Gloria Patri . Due to the new trend of late Mass times (sometimes 7 or 8 pm) to allow for more churchgoers, eight churches are the maximum number visited (even in the city area, where these are closer to each other than in outer residential areas) before these close at midnight. A festive atmosphere exists, with the sale of drinks, hot cross buns and other local snacks like the traditional kueh ko chee . Observant Catholics have
7304-509: The Il Globo (Australia) and the La gazzetta del Sud Africa (South Africa). Italian is widely taught in many schools around the world, but rarely as the first foreign language. In the 21st century, technology also allows for the continual spread of the Italian language, as people have new ways to learn how to speak, read, and write languages at their own pace and at any given time. For example,
7470-991: The La Voce del Popolo ( Croatia ), the Corriere d'Italia (Germany), the L'italoeuropeo (United Kingdom), the Passaparola ( Luxembourg ), the America Oggi (United States), the Corriere Canadese and the Corriere Italiano (Canada), the Il punto d'incontro (Mexico), the L'Italia del Popolo ( Argentina ), the Fanfulla (Brazil), the Gente d'Italia ( Uruguay ), the La Voce d'Italia ( Venezuela ),
7636-614: The Apocalypse of Paul in the 4th century. Despite a lack of "official" approval, the Apocalypse of Paul would go on to be popular for centuries, possibly due to its popularity among the medieval monks that copied and preserved manuscripts in the turbulent centuries following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The Divine Comedy belongs to the same genre and was influenced by the Apocalypse of Paul. Dante lived in
7802-839: The Catholic Church in England and Wales. The Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England , which is the mother Church of the Anglican Communion , uses the name "Maundy Thursday" for this observance. The corresponding publication of the US Episcopal Church , which is another province of the Anglican Communion, also refers to the Thursday before Easter as "Maundy Thursday". Throughout
7968-467: The Comedy was made into Latin prose by Giovanni da Serravalle in 1416 for two English bishops, Robert Hallam and Nicholas Bubwith , and an Italian cardinal, Amedeo di Saluzzo . It was made during the Council of Constance . The first verse translation, into Latin hexameters , was made in 1427–1431 by Matteo Ronto [ fr ] . The first translation of the Comedy into another vernacular
8134-683: The Easter Vigil . After the homily the washing of feet may be performed. The Blessed Sacrament remains exposed, at least in the Catholic Mass, until the service concludes with a procession taking it to the place of reposition . The altar is later stripped bare, as are all other altars in the church except the Altar of Repose. In pre-1970 editions, the Roman Missal of the Catholic Church envisages this being done ceremonially, to
8300-401: The Gallo-Italic linguistic panorama of Northern Italy , the Italo-Dalmatian , Neapolitan and its related dialects were largely unaffected by the Franco- Occitan influences introduced to Italy mainly by bards from France during the Middle Ages, but after the Norman conquest of southern Italy , Sicily became the first Italian land to adopt Occitan lyric moods (and words) in poetry. Even in
8466-465: The Grisons ), Corsica , and Vatican City . It has official minority status in Croatia , Slovenian Istria , and the municipalities of Santa Tereza and Encantado in Brazil . Italian is also spoken by large immigrant and expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia . Italian is included under the languages covered by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Romania , although Italian
SECTION 50
#17327653947348632-440: The Inferno only. The Divine Comedy has been a source of inspiration for countless artists for almost seven centuries. There are many references to Dante's work in literature . In music , Franz Liszt was one of many composers to write works based on the Divine Comedy . In sculpture , the work of Auguste Rodin includes themes from Dante. Sculptor Timothy Schmalz created a series of 100 sculptures, one for each canto, on
8798-602: The Inferno , allows Dante the freedom of not having to involve the reader in description, and allows him to "[make] room in his poem for the discussion of a great many subjects of the utmost importance, thus widening its range and increasing its variety." Dante called the poem "Comedy" (the adjective "Divine" was added later, in the 16th century) because poems in the ancient world were classified as High ("Tragedy") or Low ("Comedy"). Low poems had happy endings and were written in everyday language, whereas High poems treated more serious matters and were written in an elevated style. Dante
8964-409: The Kerala State of India . Certain German states declare a public holiday for public sector employees. In the UK, civil servants were traditionally granted a half-day holiday (known as "privilege leave") on this date, but that was abolished, by David Cameron, after 2012. The tradition of visiting seven churches on Holy Thursday is an ancient practice, probably originating in Rome . and occurs among
9130-399: The Kingdom of Italy in the Dodecanese ). Italian is widely spoken in Malta , where nearly two-thirds of the population can speak it fluently (see Maltese Italian ). Italian served as Malta's official language until 1934, when it was abolished by the British colonial administration amid strong local opposition. Italian language in Slovenia is an officially recognized minority language in
9296-698: The Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia ), although the masses kept speaking primarily their local vernaculars. Italian was also one of the many recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire . Italy has always had a distinctive dialect for each city because the cities, until recently, were thought of as city-states . Those dialects now have considerable variety . As Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian . The most characteristic differences, for instance, between Roman Italian and Milanese Italian are syntactic gemination of initial consonants in some contexts and
9462-405: The Last Supper , Christian denominations who observe this day universally celebrate the sacrament of Holy Communion , which they teach was instituted by Jesus on this night. In the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and in certain Anglican congregations, the Mass of the Lord's Supper begins as usual, but the Gloria is accompanied by the ringing of church bells , which are then silent until
9628-413: The Moon , containing the inconstant, whose vows to God waned as the moon and thus lack fortitude; Mercury , containing the ambitious, who were virtuous for glory and thus lacked justice; and Venus , containing the lovers, whose love was directed towards another than God and thus lacked temperance. The final four incidentally are positive examples of the cardinal virtues, all led on by the Sun , containing
9794-429: The Neoplatonic influence of Sufis such as Ibn Arabi . Philosopher Frederick Copleston argued in 1950 that Dante's respectful treatment of Averroes , Avicenna , and Siger of Brabant indicates his acknowledgement of a "considerable debt" to Islamic philosophy. In 1919, Miguel Asín Palacios , a Spanish scholar and a Catholic priest, published La Escatología musulmana en la Divina Comedia ( Islamic Eschatology in
9960-410: The Oratorio della Nunziatella in Foligno. The Divine Comedy can be described simply as an allegory : each canto, and the episodes therein, can contain many alternative meanings. Dante's allegory, however, is more complex, and, in explaining how to read the poem (see the Letter to Cangrande ) he outlines other levels of meaning besides the allegory: the historical, the moral, the literal, and
10126-499: The Paradiso , such as a sevenfold division of Paradise , although this is not unique to the Kitab al Miraj or Islamic cosmology. Many scholars have not been satisfied that Dante was influenced by the Kitab al Miraj . The 20th-century Orientalist Francesco Gabrieli expressed skepticism regarding the claimed similarities, and the lack of evidence of a vehicle through which it could have been transmitted to Dante. The Italian philologist Maria Corti pointed out that, during his stay at
SECTION 60
#173276539473410292-411: The Philippines the tradition is called Visita Iglesia ( Spanish , "church visit") – people visit churches to pray, usually reciting the Stations of the Cross . It is a chiefly urban custom, as churches are located closer to each other in cities , and supposedly because it originates in visiting the seven churches of Intramuros that stood until the 1945 Bombing of Manila . The original purpose of
10458-423: The Placiti Cassinesi from the province of Benevento that date from 960 to 963, although the Veronese Riddle , probably from the 8th or early 9th century, contains a late form of Vulgar Latin that can be seen as a very early sample of a vernacular dialect of Italy. The Commodilla catacomb inscription is also a similar case. The Italian language has progressed through a long and slow process, which started after
10624-414: The River Ganges : Just as, there where its Maker shed His blood, the sun shed its first rays, and Ebro lay beneath high Libra, and the ninth hour's rays were scorching Ganges' waves; so here, the sun stood at the point of day's departure when God's angel – happy – showed himself to us. Dante travels through the centre of the Earth in the Inferno , and comments on
10790-406: The Western Roman Empire's fall in the 5th century. The language that came to be thought of as Italian developed in central Tuscany and was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri , written in his native Florentine . Dante's epic poems, known collectively as the Commedia , to which another Tuscan poet Giovanni Boccaccio later affixed
10956-539: The anagogical . The structure of the poem is also quite complex, with mathematical and numerological patterns distributed throughout the work, particularly threes and nines. The poem is often lauded for its particularly human qualities: Dante's skillful delineation of the characters he encounters in Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise; his bitter denunciations of Florentine and Italian politics; and his powerful poetic imagination. Dante's use of real characters, according to Dorothy Sayers in her introduction to her translation of
11122-408: The artophorion . In cathedrals and monasteries the ceremony of the Washing of Feet is normally performed. When there is need to consecrate more chrism , that is performed by patriarchs and other heads of the various autocephalous churches. In the evening, after the Liturgy, all of the hangings and vestments are changed to black or some other dark colour, to signify the beginning of
11288-495: The medieval worldview as it existed in the Western Church by the 14th century. It helped establish the Tuscan language , in which it is written, as the standardized Italian language . It is divided into three parts: Inferno , Purgatorio , and Paradiso . The poem discusses "the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward", and describes Dante's travels through Hell , Purgatory , and Heaven . Allegorically ,
11454-441: The science of his day (this mixture of science with poetry has received both praise and criticism over the centuries). The Purgatorio repeatedly refers to the implications of a spherical Earth , such as the different stars visible in the southern hemisphere , the altered position of the sun , and the various time zones of the Earth. For example, at sunset in Purgatory it is midnight at the Ebro , dawn in Jerusalem, and noon on
11620-401: The "odor of sanctity" to which those who are marked with it, are called to strive. With respect to Anglicanism, the 1979 Book of Common Prayer (p. 307) calls for chrism to be consecrated by the bishop. In many dioceses, the consecration of chrism by the bishop may be done at a service of reaffirmation of ordination vows during Holy Week. During the Chrism Eucharist, the Bishop will bless
11786-406: The 111 Italian lecturer sections belonging to foreign schools where Italian is taught as a language of culture. As of 2022, Australia had the highest number of students learning Italian in the world. This occurred because of support by the Italian community in Australia and the Italian Government and also because of successful educational reform efforts led by local governments in Australia. From
11952-458: The 13th century in the form of various religious texts and poetry. Although these are the first written records of Italian varieties separate from Latin, the spoken language had probably diverged long before the first written records appeared since those who were literate generally wrote in Latin even if they spoke other Romance varieties in person. Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the use of Standard Italian became increasingly widespread and
12118-562: The 1970s. It is official both on the national level and on regional level in two cantons : Ticino and Grisons . In the latter canton, however, it is only spoken by a small minority, in the Italian Grisons . Ticino, which includes Lugano , the largest Italian-speaking city outside Italy, is the only canton where Italian is predominant. Italian is also used in administration and official documents in Vatican City . Italian
12284-431: The 700th anniversary of the date of Dante's death, and many visual artists have illustrated Dante's work, as shown by the examples above. There have also been many references to the Divine Comedy in cinema , television , comics and video games . Italian language Italian ( italiano , pronounced [itaˈljaːno] , or lingua italiana , pronounced [ˈliŋɡwa itaˈljaːna] )
12450-576: The Anglican Communion, the term "Holy Thursday" is a synonym for Ascension Day . The Roman Rite of the Catholic Church uses the name "Holy Thursday" in its modern English-language liturgical books. The Latin books use the name Feria quinta in Cena Domini ("Thursday of the Supper of the Lord"; the medieval spelling Cœna was used in place of Cena in documents predating the 1955 decree Maxima redemptionis ), along with Maundy Thursday as
12616-595: The Apostles, as described in the canonical gospels . It is the fifth day of Holy Week, preceded by Holy Wednesday (Spy Wednesday) and followed by Good Friday . "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum , or commandment, reflecting Jesus' words "I give you a new commandment." The date of the day will vary according to whether the Gregorian calendar or the Julian calendar is used. Eastern churches generally use
12782-517: The Black Guelphs. This exile, which lasted the rest of Dante's life, shows its influence in many parts of the Comedy , from prophecies of Dante's exile to Dante's views of politics, to the eternal damnation of some of his opponents. The last word in each of the three cantiche is stelle ("stars"). The poem begins on the night before Good Friday in the year 1300, "halfway along our life's path" ( Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita ). Dante
12948-689: The Divine Comedy ), an account of parallels between early Islamic philosophy and the Divine Comedy . Palacios argued that Dante derived many features of and episodes about the hereafter from the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi and from the Isra and Mi'raj , or night journey of Muhammad to heaven. The latter is described in the ahadith and the Kitab al Miraj (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before as Liber scalae Machometi , "The Book of Muhammad's Ladder"), and has significant similarities to
13114-530: The English name, as given in The Saint Andrew Daily Missal . The personal ordinariates in the Catholic Church, which have an Anglican patrimony, retain the traditional English term "Maundy Thursday", however. An article in the 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia used the term "Maundy Thursday", and some Catholic writers use the same term either primarily, or alternatively. The Methodist Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) uses
13280-582: The Excommunicated from the church and the Late repentant who died, often violently, before receiving rites. Thus the total comes to nine, with the addition of the Garden of Eden at the summit, equaling ten. Allegorically, the Purgatorio represents the Christian life. Christian souls arrive escorted by an angel, singing In exitu Israel de Aegypto . In his letter to Cangrande (the authenticity of which
13446-593: The Gospel of John , Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet. The phrase is used as the antiphon sung in the Roman Rite during the Maundy ( Ecclesiastical Latin : "Mandatum") ceremony of the washing of the feet, which may be held during Mass or as a separate event. A priest or bishop, representing Christ, ceremonially washes the feet of others, typically 12 persons chosen as
13612-417: The Italian dialects has declined in the modern era , as Italy unified under Standard Italian and continues to do so aided by mass media from newspapers to radio to television, diglossia is still frequently encountered in Italy and triglossia is not uncommon in emigrant communities among older speakers. Both situations normally involve some degree of code-switching and code-mixing . Notes: Italian has
13778-489: The Italian language into a lingua franca used not only among clerks, nobility, and functionaries in the Italian courts but also by the bourgeoisie . Italian literature's first modern novel, I promessi sposi ( The Betrothed ) by Alessandro Manzoni , further defined the standard by "rinsing" his Milanese "in the waters of the Arno " ( Florence 's river), as he states in the preface to his 1840 edition. After unification,
13944-539: The Julian system. Use of the names "Maundy Thursday", "Holy Thursday", and others is not evenly distributed. The generally accepted name for the day varies according to geographical area and religious affiliation. Thus, although in England "Maundy Thursday" is the normal term, the term "Holy Thursday" is more commonly used in Ireland, Scotland, Canada and the United States. The latter is the official name used in English by
14110-556: The Mediterranean. The increasing political and cultural relevance of Florence during the periods of the rise of the Medici Bank , humanism , and the Renaissance made its dialect, or rather a refined version of it, a standard in the arts. The Renaissance era, known as il Rinascimento in Italian, was seen as a time of rebirth, which is the literal meaning of both renaissance (from French) and rinascimento (Italian). During this time, long-existing beliefs stemming from
14276-544: The Mountain of Purgatory. While the love that flows from God is pure, it can become sinful as it flows through humanity. Humans can sin by using love towards improper or malicious ends ( Wrath , Envy , Pride ), or using it to proper ends but with love that is either not strong enough ( Sloth ) or love that is too strong ( Lust , Gluttony , Greed ). Below the seven purges of the soul is the Ante-Purgatory, containing
14442-687: The Passion. Anticipating the Matins of Friday morning, the Holy Passion service of the reading of the Twelve Gospels is conducted. In these readings Christ's last instructions to his disciples are presented, as well as the prophecy of the drama of the Cross, Christ's prayer, and his new commandment. The twelve readings are: Beginning on Holy and Great Thursday, the memorial service for the dead
14608-555: The accompaniment of Psalms 21–22 , a practice which continues in the Lutheran churches and Anglican churches of Anglo-Catholic churchmanship . In other Christian denominations , such as the Methodist Churches, the stripping of the altar and other items on the chancel also occurs, as a preparation for the somber Good Friday service. The stripping of the altar represents "the abandonment of Jesus by his disciples and
14774-496: The beard on that day, or for a combination of reasons. This name has cognates in the Nordic languages, such as Danish skærtorsdag , Swedish skärtorsdag , Norwegian skjærtorsdag , Faroese skírhósdagur and skírisdagur , Icelandic skírdagur , and Finnish kiirastorstai . Maundy is the name of the Christian rite of footwashing, which traditionally occurs during Maundy Thursday church services. The English word maundy in
14940-444: The case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are careful not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages. The economic might and relatively advanced development of Tuscany at the time ( Late Middle Ages ) gave its language weight, although Venetian remained widespread in medieval Italian commercial life, and Ligurian (or Genoese) remained in use in maritime trade alongside
15106-671: The catechumens and chrism are used on the upcoming Holy Saturday at the Easter Vigil , for the baptism and confirmation of those entering the church. While the Oil of the Catechumens and the Oil of the Sick, are simply "blessed," the Sacred Chrism is "consecrated,". Holy chrism is a mixture of olive oil and balsam, an aromatic resin. Balsam is poured into the oil, which gives it a sweet smell intended to remind those who encounter it of
15272-653: The colonial period. In the early 19th century, Eritrea was the country with the highest number of Italians abroad, and the Italian Eritreans grew from 4,000 during World War I to nearly 100,000 at the beginning of World War II. In Asmara there are two Italian schools, the Italian School of Asmara (Italian primary school with a Montessori department) and the Liceo Sperimentale "G. Marconi" (Italian international senior high school). Italian
15438-573: The country (some 0.42% of the total population). Their numbers dropped dramatically after World War II following the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus , which caused the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians. Italian was the official language of the Republic of Ragusa from 1492 to 1807. It formerly had official status in Albania due to the annexation of
15604-518: The country to the Kingdom of Italy (1939–1943). Albania has a large population of non-native speakers, with over half of the population having some knowledge of the Italian language. The Albanian government has pushed to make Italian a compulsory second language in schools. The Italian language is well-known and studied in Albania, due to its historical ties and geographical proximity to Italy and to
15770-446: The country. A few hundred Italian settlers returned to Libya in the 2000s. Italian was the official language of Eritrea during Italian colonisation . Italian is today used in commerce, and it is still spoken especially among elders; besides that, Italian words are incorporated as loan words in the main language spoken in the country (Tigrinya). The capital city of Eritrea, Asmara , still has several Italian schools, established during
15936-579: The country. The official census, carried out in 2002, reported 2,258 ethnic Italians ( Istrian Italians ) in Slovenia (0.11% of the total population). Italian language in Croatia is an official minority language in the country, with many schools and public announcements published in both languages. The 2001 census in Croatia reported 19,636 ethnic Italians (Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians ) in
16102-595: The court of Alfonso X, Dante's mentor Brunetto Latini met Bonaventura de Siena, a Tuscan who had translated the Kitab al Miraj from Arabic into Latin. Corti speculates that Brunetto may have provided a copy of that work to Dante. René Guénon , a Sufi convert and scholar of Ibn Arabi, confirms in The Esoterism of Dante the theory of the Islamic influence (direct or indirect) on Dante. Palacios' theory that Dante
16268-550: The depths of Hell, Dante and Virgil ascend out of the undergloom to the Mountain of Purgatory on the far side of the world. The Mountain is on an island, the only land in the Southern Hemisphere , created by the displacement of rock which resulted when Satan 's fall created Hell (which Dante portrays as existing underneath Jerusalem ). The mountain has seven terraces, corresponding to the seven deadly sins or "seven roots of sinfulness". The classification of sin here
16434-464: The design and fashion industries, in some sports such as football and especially in culinary terms. In Italy, almost all the other languages spoken as the vernacular —other than standard Italian and some languages spoken among immigrant communities—are often called " Italian dialects ", a label that can be very misleading if it is understood to mean "dialects of Italian". The Romance dialects of Italy are local evolutions of spoken Latin that pre-date
16600-610: The different stars visible in the southern hemisphere , the altered position of the sun, and the various time zones of the Earth. At this stage it is, Dante says, sunset at Jerusalem, midnight on the River Ganges , and sunrise in Purgatory. After an initial ascension, Beatrice guides Dante through the nine celestial spheres of Heaven . These are concentric and spherical, as in Aristotelian and Ptolemaic cosmology. While
16766-534: The diffusion of Italian television in the country. Due to heavy Italian influence during the Italian colonial period , Italian is still understood by some in former colonies such as Libya. Although it was the primary language in Libya since colonial rule , Italian greatly declined under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi , who expelled the Italian Libyan population and made Arabic the sole official language of
16932-478: The educated gentlemen was to make the Grand Tour , visiting Italy to see its great historical monuments and works of art. It was expected that the visitor would learn at least some Italian, understood as language based on Florentine. In England, while the classical languages Latin and Greek were the first to be learned, Italian became the second most common modern language after French, a position it held until
17098-510: The essence of God, completing the nine-fold division to ten. Dante meets and converses with several great saints of the Church, including Thomas Aquinas , Bonaventure , Saint Peter , and St. John . Near the end, Beatrice departs and Bernard of Clairvaux takes over as the guide. The Paradiso is more theological in nature than the Inferno and the Purgatorio . However, Dante admits that
17264-462: The establishment of Italian, and as such are sister languages to the Tuscan that was the historical source of Italian. They can be quite different from Italian and from each other, with some belonging to different linguistic branches of Romance. The only exceptions to this are twelve groups considered " historical language minorities ", which are officially recognized as distinct minority languages by
17430-683: The evening, when Friday begins according to Jewish tradition, as the Last Supper was held on the feast of Passover , according to the three Synoptic Gospels . In the United Kingdom , the Royal Maundy service involves the Monarch offering "alms" to deserving senior citizens – one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age. These coins, known as Maundy money or Royal Maundy, are distributed in red and white purses, and
17596-487: The fact that it was linguistically an intermediate between the northern and the southern Italian dialects. Thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the official language of Italy. Italian was progressively made an official language of most of the Italian states predating unification, slowly replacing Latin, even when ruled by foreign powers (such as Spain in the Kingdom of Naples , or Austria in
17762-418: The faithful in countries around the world. In India , the custom is to visit fourteen churches, one per Station of the Cross . Traditionally, this is performed on Maundy Thursday evening but is more often done on the morning of Good Friday or on any day of Lent. Usually, whole families would participate, customarily fasting for the duration of the rite. It is also undertaken by parish devotional groups. In
17928-677: The faithful ones including Moses and Abraham. Maundy Thursday is a public holiday in most countries that were part of the Spanish empire ( Argentina , Colombia , Costa Rica , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico , Nicaragua , Paraguay , Peru , the Philippines , Spain , Uruguay and Venezuela ), countries that were part of the Danish colonial empire ( Denmark , Iceland , Norway and United States Virgin Islands ), and in
18094-423: The final cantos of Paradiso . The work was originally simply titled Comedìa ( pronounced [komeˈdiːa] , Tuscan for "Comedy") – so also in the first printed edition, published in 1472 – later adjusted to the modern Italian Commedia . The adjective Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio , owing to its subject matter and lofty style, and the first edition to name the poem Divina Comedia in
18260-754: The first time in Northern Ireland at Armagh Cathedral . Until the death of King James II , the Monarch would also wash the feet of the selected poor people. There is an old sketch, done from life, of Queen Elizabeth I washing people's feet on Maundy Thursday. The Maundy (washing of the feet) is practised among many Christian groups on Maundy Thursday, including the Anglican / Protestant Episcopal , Armenian , Ethiopian , Lutheran , Methodist , Eastern Catholic , Schwarzenau (German Baptist) Brethren , Mennonite , Presbyterian and Roman Catholic traditions. With Maundy Thursday commemorating
18426-524: The first two canticles and who has his epic The Aeneid praised with language Dante reserves elsewhere for Scripture. Ovid is given less explicit praise in the poem, but besides Virgil, Dante uses Ovid as a source more than any other poet, mostly through metaphors and fantastical episodes based on those in The Metamorphoses . Less influential than either of the two are Statius and Lucan, the latter of whom has only been given proper recognition as
18592-476: The free website and application Duolingo has 4.94 million English speakers learning the Italian language. According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs , every year there are more than 200,000 foreign students who study the Italian language; they are distributed among the 90 Institutes of Italian Culture that are located around the world, in the 179 Italian schools located abroad, or in
18758-775: The holy day in their official sources. In the Byzantine Rite the name for the holy day is "Great and Holy Thursday" or "Holy Thursday", and in Western Rite Orthodoxy "Maundy Thursday", "Holy Thursday" or both. The Coptic Orthodox Church uses the term "Covenant Thursday" or "Thursday of the Covenant". In the Maronite Church and the Syriac Orthodox Church , the name is "Thursday of Mysteries". "Maundy Thursday"
18924-489: The island of Corsica (but not in the neighbouring Sardinia , which on the contrary underwent Italianization well into the late 18th century, under Savoyard sway: the island's linguistic composition, roofed by the prestige of Spanish among the Sardinians , would therein make for a rather slow process of assimilation to the Italian cultural sphere ). The rediscovery of Dante's De vulgari eloquentia , as well as
19090-577: The language has a 7-vowel sound system ('e' and 'o' have mid-low and mid-high sounds). Italian has contrast between short and long consonants and gemination (doubling) of consonants. During the Middle Ages , the established written language in Europe was Latin, although the great majority of people were illiterate, and only few were well versed in the language. In the Italian Peninsula , as in most of Europe, most would instead speak
19256-640: The language to that continent. According to some sources, Italian is the second most spoken language in Argentina after the official language of Spanish, although its number of speakers, mainly of the older generation, is decreasing. Italian bilingual speakers can be found scattered across the Southeast of Brazil as well as in the South. In Venezuela , Italian is the most spoken language after Spanish and Portuguese, with around 200,000 speakers. In Uruguay , people who speak Italian as their home language are 1.1% of
19422-621: The last three cantos. The structure of the three realms follows a common numerical pattern of 9 plus 1, for a total of 10. There are nine circles of the Inferno, followed by Lucifer contained at its bottom; nine rings of Mount Purgatory, followed by the Garden of Eden crowning its summit; and the nine celestial bodies of Paradiso, followed by the Empyrean containing the very essence of God. Within each group of nine, seven elements correspond to
19588-434: The late 18th century when it tended to be replaced by German. John Milton , for instance, wrote some of his early poetry in Italian. Within the Catholic Church , Italian is known by a large part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and is used in substitution for Latin in some official documents. Italian loanwords continue to be used in most languages in matters of art and music (especially classical music including opera), in
19754-534: The late 19th to the mid-20th century, millions of Italians settled in Argentina, Uruguay, Southern Brazil and Venezuela, as well as in Canada and the United States, where they formed a physical and cultural presence. In some cases, colonies were established where variants of regional languages of Italy were used, and some continue to use this regional language. Examples are Rio Grande do Sul , Brazil, where Talian
19920-567: The law. On the other hand, Corsican (a language spoken on the French island of Corsica ) is closely related to medieval Tuscan , from which Standard Italian derives and evolved. The differences in the evolution of Latin in the different regions of Italy can be attributed to the natural changes that all languages in regular use are subject to, and to some extent to the presence of three other types of languages: substrata, superstrata, and adstrata . The most prevalent were substrata (the language of
20086-460: The name for the day is derived through Middle English and Old French mandé , from the Latin mandatum (also the origin of the English word "mandate"), the first word of the phrase " Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos " ("A new commandment I give unto you: That you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.") By this statement in chapter 13 of
20252-412: The nation was unified in 1861. Italian is a Romance language , a descendant of Vulgar Latin (colloquial spoken Latin). Standard Italian is based on Tuscan , especially its Florentine dialect , and is, therefore, an Italo-Dalmatian language , a classification that includes most other central and southern Italian languages and the extinct Dalmatian . According to Ethnologue , lexical similarity
20418-585: The night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides him through Hell and Purgatory; Beatrice , Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. Beatrice was a Florentine woman he had met in childhood and admired from afar in the mode of the then-fashionable courtly love tradition, which is highlighted in Dante's earlier work La Vita Nuova . The Cistercian abbot Bernard of Clairvaux guides Dante through
20584-408: The number of printing presses in Italy grew rapidly and by the year 1500 reached a total of 56, the biggest number of printing presses in all of Europe. This enabled the production of more pieces of literature at a lower cost and Italian, as the dominant language, spread. Italian became the language used in the courts of every state in the Italian Peninsula , as well as the prestige variety used on
20750-667: The oils used throughout the next year for baptisms and healing. In addition, the Bishop and clergy in attendance will reaffirm their Ordination Vows. In the Roman Catholic Church, plenary indulgence is obtained in the following cases: In the Eastern Orthodox Church , the liturgical colours are brighter, white being common. On this day alone during Holy Week, the fast is relaxed to permit consumption of wine and oil. The primary service of this day
20916-630: The openness of vowels, the length of the consonants, and influence of the local language (for example, in informal situations andà , annà and nare replace the standard Italian andare in the area of Tuscany, Rome and Venice respectively for the infinitive "to go"). There is no definitive date when the various Italian variants of Latin—including varieties that contributed to modern Standard Italian—began to be distinct enough from Latin to be considered separate languages. One criterion for determining that two language variants are to be considered separate languages rather than variants of
21082-584: The original inhabitants), as the Italian dialects were most probably simply Latin as spoken by native cultural groups. Superstrata and adstrata were both less important. Foreign conquerors of Italy that dominated different regions at different times left behind little to no influence on the dialects. Foreign cultures with which Italy engaged in peaceful relations with, such as trade, had no significant influence either. Throughout Italy, regional varieties of Standard Italian, called Regional Italian , are spoken. Regional differences can be recognized by various factors:
21248-458: The other hand, almost everyone still speaks the Corsican idiom , which, due to its linguistic proximity to the Italian standard language, appears both linguistically as an Italian dialect and therefore as a carrier of Italian culture, despite the French government's decades-long efforts to cut Corsica off from the Italian motherland. Italian was the official language in Monaco until 1860, when it
21414-477: The pilgrim Dante is accompanied by three guides: Virgil , who represents human reason , and who guides him for all of Inferno and most of Purgatorio ; Beatrice , who represents divine revelation in addition to theology, grace, and faith; and guides him from the end of Purgatorio onwards; and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux , who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother , guiding him in
21580-447: The poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica , brings the total number of cantos to 100. It is generally accepted, however, that the first two cantos serve as a unitary prologue to the entire epic, and that the opening two cantos of each cantica serve as prologues to each of the three cantiche . The number three is prominent in the work, represented in part by the number of cantiche and their lengths. Additionally,
21746-470: The poem represents the soul's journey towards God , beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin ( Inferno ), followed by the penitent Christian life ( Purgatorio ), which is then followed by the soul's ascent to God ( Paradiso ). Dante draws on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas . In the poem,
21912-406: The population of Italy could speak Standard Italian. He reports that in 1951 that percentage had risen to 87%. The ability to speak Italian did not necessarily mean it was in everyday use, and most people (63.5%) still usually spoke their native dialects. In addition, other factors such as mass emigration, industrialization, and urbanization, and internal migrations after World War II , contributed to
22078-469: The proliferation of Standard Italian. The Italians who emigrated during the Italian diaspora beginning in 1861 were often of the uneducated lower class, and thus the emigration had the effect of increasing the percentage of literates, who often knew and understood the importance of Standard Italian, back home in Italy. A large percentage of those who had emigrated also eventually returned to Italy, often more educated than when they had left. Although use of
22244-528: The pronunciation of stressed "e", and of "s" between vowels in many words: e.g. va bene "all right" is pronounced [vabˈbɛːne] by a Roman (and by any standard Italian speaker), [vaˈbeːne] by a Milanese (and by any speaker whose native dialect lies to the north of the La Spezia–Rimini Line ); a casa "at home" is [akˈkaːsa] for Roman, [akˈkaːsa] or [akˈkaːza] for standard, [aˈkaːza] for Milanese and generally northern. In contrast to
22410-441: The prudent, whose wisdom lighted the way for the other virtues, to which the others are bound (constituting a category on its own). Mars contains the men of fortitude who died in the cause of Christianity; Jupiter contains the kings of justice; and Saturn contains the temperate, the monks. The seven subdivided into three are raised further by two more categories: the eighth sphere of the fixed stars that contain those who achieved
22576-415: The publication of Agnolo Monosini 's Latin tome Floris italicae linguae libri novem in 1604 followed by the first Italian dictionary in 1612. An important event that helped the diffusion of Italian was the conquest and occupation of Italy by Napoleon in the early 19th century (who was himself of Italian-Corsican descent). This conquest propelled the unification of Italy some decades after and pushed
22742-487: The referendum that allowed France to annex Savoy and Nice, and a group of his followers (among the Italian Savoyards ) took refuge in Italy in the following years. Corsica passed from the Republic of Genoa to France in 1769 after the Treaty of Versailles . Italian was the official language of Corsica until 1859. Giuseppe Garibaldi called for the inclusion of the " Corsican Italians " within Italy when Rome
22908-438: The resulting change in the direction of gravity in Canto XXXIV (lines 76–120). A little earlier (XXXIII, 102–105), he queries the existence of wind in the frozen inner circle of hell, since it has no temperature differentials. Inevitably, given its setting, the Paradiso discusses astronomy extensively, but in the Ptolemaic sense. The Paradiso also discusses the importance of the experimental method in science, with
23074-409: The ritual was to venerate the Blessed Sacrament in the Altar of Repose on Maundy Thursday night, but since no prayers were prescribed (apart from those for the Pope ), the Stations of the Cross were recited. In Singapore , the visiting of churches occurs shortly after the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Prayers at each church consist of seven repetitions of the Lord's Prayer , Ave Maria , and
23240-420: The romantic reappraisal of Dante, juxtaposing him to Homer. The Comedy was "rediscovered" in the English-speaking world by William Blake – who illustrated several passages of the epic – and the Romantic writers of the 19th century. Later authors such as T. S. Eliot , Ezra Pound , Samuel Beckett , C. S. Lewis and James Joyce have drawn on it for inspiration. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
23406-399: The scholastic doctrine, such as in his unbridled praise for poetry. Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse". The Apocalypse of Peter is one of the earliest examples of a Christian-Jewish katabasis , a genre of explicit depictions of heaven and hell. Later works inspired by it include the Apocalypse of Thomas in the 2nd–4th century, and more importantly,
23572-425: The sins of violence against one's neighbor, against oneself, and against God, art, and nature; and Circles 8 and 9 for the sins of fraud and treachery. Added to these are two dissimilar, spiritual categories: Limbo, in Circle 1, contains the virtuous pagans who were not sinful but were ignorant of Christ, and Circle 6 contains the heretics who contradicted the doctrine and confused the spirit of Christ. Having survived
23738-445: The stripping of Jesus by the soldiers before his crucifixion." The Chrism Mass is a religious service held in Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. Maundy Thursday is notable for being the day on which the Chrism Mass is celebrated in each diocese . Usually held in the diocesan cathedral , it is generally held on the morning of Maundy Thursday, but may in some dioceses take place on another day during Holy Week. The Mass
23904-419: The structures of the Inferno and Purgatorio were based on different classifications of sin, the structure of the Paradiso is based on the four cardinal virtues and the three theological virtues . The seven lowest spheres of Heaven deal solely with the cardinal virtues of Prudence , Fortitude , Justice and Temperance . The first three spheres involve a deficiency of one of the cardinal virtues –
24070-622: The sun is silent (' l sol tace ), Dante is at last rescued by Virgil, and the two of them begin their journey to the underworld. Each sin's punishment in Inferno is a contrapasso , a symbolic instance of poetic justice ; for example, in Canto XX, fortune-tellers and soothsayers must walk with their heads on backwards, unable to see what is ahead, because that was what they had tried to do in life: they had their faces twisted toward their haunches and found it necessary to walk backward, because they could not see ahead of them. ... and since he wanted so to see ahead, he looks behind and walks
24236-401: The teachings of the Roman Catholic Church began to be understood from new perspectives as humanists —individuals who placed emphasis on the human body and its full potential—began to shift focus from the church to human beings themselves. The continual advancements in technology play a crucial role in the diffusion of languages. After the invention of the printing press in the 15th century,
24402-414: The term "Maundy Thursday"; the Book of Worship (1992) uses the term "Holy Thursday", and other official sources of the United Methodist Church use both "Maundy Thursday" and "Holy Thursday". Both names are used by other Christian denominations as well, including the Lutheran Church , and certain Reformed Churches . Certain Presbyterian Churches use the term "Maundy Thursday" to refer to
24568-420: The theological virtues of faith , hope , and love , and represent the Church Triumphant – the total perfection of humanity, cleansed of all the sins and carrying all the virtues of heaven; and the ninth circle, or Primum Mobile (corresponding to the geocentricism of medieval astronomy), which contains the angels, creatures never poisoned by original sin. Topping them all is the Empyrean , which contains
24734-410: The title Divina , were read throughout the peninsula and his written dialect became the "canonical standard" that all educated Italians could understand. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language. In addition to the widespread exposure gained through literature, the Florentine dialect also gained prestige due to the political and cultural significance of Florence at the time and
24900-421: The title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce , published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari . The Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three cantiche (singular cantica ) – Inferno ( Hell ), Purgatorio ( Purgatory ), and Paradiso ( Paradise ) – each consisting of 33 cantos (Italian plural canti ). An initial canto, serving as an introduction to
25066-421: The total population of the country. In Australia, Italian is the second most spoken foreign language after Chinese, with 1.4% of the population speaking it as their home language. The main Italian-language newspapers published outside Italy are the L'Osservatore Romano ( Vatican City ), the L'Informazione di San Marino ( San Marino ), the Corriere del Ticino and the laRegione Ticino ( Switzerland ),
25232-407: The verse scheme used, terza rima , is hendecasyllabic (lines of eleven syllables), with the lines composing tercets according to the rhyme scheme ABA BCB CDC DED ... The total number of syllables in each tercet is thus 33, the same as the number of cantos in each cantica . Written in the first person, the poem tells of Dante's journey through the three realms of the dead, lasting from
25398-419: The vision of heaven he receives is merely the one his human eyes permit him to see, and thus Dante's personal vision. The Divine Comedy finishes with Dante seeing the Triune God . In a flash of understanding that he cannot express, Dante finally understands the mystery of Christ 's divinity and humanity, and his soul becomes aligned with God's love: But already my desire and my will were being turned like
25564-430: The working languages of the Council of Europe . It is the third-most-widely spoken native language in the European Union (13% of the EU population) and it is spoken as a second language by 13.4 million EU citizens (3%). Including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries (such as Switzerland, Albania and the United Kingdom ) and on other continents, the total number of speakers is approximately 85 million. Italian
25730-450: The works of Albertus Magnus . Dante even acknowledges Aristotle's influence explicitly in the poem, specifically when Virgil justifies the Inferno's structure by citing the Nicomachean Ethics . In the same canto, Virgil draws on Cicero 's De Officiis to explain why sins of the intellect are worse than sins of violence, a key point that would be explored from canto XVIII to the end of the Inferno . The Divine Comedy ' s language
25896-458: The world between them. There is no third." For Jorge Luis Borges the Divine Comedy was "the best book literature has achieved". The Divine Comedy has been translated into English more times than any other language, and new English translations of the Divine Comedy continue to be published regularly. Notable English translations of the complete poem include the following. A number of other translators, such as Robert Pinsky , have translated
26062-439: Was also introduced to Somalia through colonialism and was the sole official language of administration and education during the colonial period but fell out of use after government, educational and economic infrastructure were destroyed in the Somali Civil War . Italian is also spoken by large immigrant and expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia. Although over 17 million Americans are of Italian descent , only
26228-419: Was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy , but King Victor Emmanuel II did not agree to it. Italian is generally understood in Corsica by the population resident therein who speak Corsican , which is an Italo-Romance idiom similar to Tuscan. Francization occurred in Nice case, and caused a near-disappearance of the Italian language as many of the Italian speakers in these areas migrated to Italy. In Corsica, on
26394-407: Was influenced by Ibn Arabi was satirized by the Turkish academic Orhan Pamuk in his novel The Black Book . In addition to that, it has been claimed that Risālat al-Ghufrān ("The Epistle of Forgiveness"), a satirical work mixing Arabic poetry and prose written by Abu al-ʿAlaʾ al-Maʿarri around 1033 CE, had an influence on, or even inspired, Dante's Divine Comedy . The Divine Comedy
26560-415: Was its first American translator, and modern poets, including Seamus Heaney , Robert Pinsky , John Ciardi , W. S. Merwin , and Stanley Lombardo , have also produced translations of all or parts of the book. In Russia, beyond Alexander Pushkin 's translation of a few tercets, Osip Mandelstam 's late poetry has been said to bear the mark of a "tormented meditation" on the Comedy . In 1934, Mandelstam gave
26726-443: Was mirrored by a decline in the use of the dialects. An increase in literacy was one of the main driving factors (one can assume that only literates were capable of learning Standard Italian, whereas those who were illiterate had access only to their native dialect). The percentage of literates rose from 25% in 1861 to 60% in 1911, and then on to 78.1% in 1951. Tullio De Mauro , an Italian linguist, has asserted that in 1861 only 2.5% of
26892-439: Was not always as well-regarded as it is today. Although recognized as a masterpiece in the centuries immediately following its publication, the work was largely ignored during the Enlightenment , with some notable exceptions such as Vittorio Alfieri ; Antoine de Rivarol , who translated the Inferno into French; and Giambattista Vico , who in the Scienza nuova and in the Giudizio su Dante inaugurated what would later become
27058-451: Was one of the first in the Middle Ages to write of a serious subject, the Redemption of humanity, in the low and "vulgar" Italian language and not the Latin one might expect for such a serious topic. Boccaccio 's account that an early version of the poem was begun by Dante in Latin is still controversial. Although the Divine Comedy is primarily a religious poem, discussing sin, virtue, and theology, Dante also discusses several elements of
27224-425: Was part of the Guelphs, who in general favored the papacy over the Holy Roman Emperor . Florence's Guelphs split into factions around 1300 – the White Guelphs and the Black Guelphs. Dante was among the White Guelphs who were exiled in 1302 by the Lord-Mayor Cante de' Gabrielli di Gubbio , after troops under Charles of Valois entered the city, at the request of Pope Boniface VIII , who supported
27390-406: Was replaced by the French. This was due to the annexation of the surrounding County of Nice to France following the Treaty of Turin (1860) . It formerly had official status in Montenegro (because of the Venetian Albania ), parts of Slovenia and Croatia (because of the Venetian Istria and Venetian Dalmatia ), parts of Greece (because of the Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands and by
27556-411: Was the prose translation into Castilian completed by Enrique de Villena in 1428. The first vernacular verse translation was that of Andreu Febrer into Catalan in 1429. The first printed edition was published in Foligno , Italy, by Johann Numeister and Evangelista Angelini da Trevi on 11 April 1472. Of the 300 copies printed, fourteen still survive. The original printing press is on display in
#733266