Writer, poet, essayist and translator Vittorio Sermonti is hugely popular in Italy, thanks in part to his insightful commentary on Dante’s Divine Comedy, but even more because of the dramatic readings of Dante he’s done in Italy’s most impressive historic monuments over the course of the past 15 years.
His readings of the Inferno, the Purgatorio, and the Paradiso in places like the Pantheon in Rome, the Cenacolo di Santa Croce in Florence, the Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, and the Church of San Francesco in Ravenna have attracted more than 150,000 listeners.
Now, in association with Telecom Progetto Italia, Sermonti is on stage at Rome’s Capitoline Museums, helping Romans get back in touch with the very earliest history of their city, by reading his own translation the Aeneid to an enthusiastic audience.
The Aeneid, a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC, tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Roman people.
Sermonti’s readings of the 12 books of the epic is being held in the Exedra of Marcus Aurelius, a new addition to the Capitoline Museums. The readings began on September 18th and will take place every night at 9:00pm (except Sundays and Mondays) until October 19th.
Can’t make it every night? Not in Rome but wish you could attend? Video recordings of each evening’s readings are available on the Telecom Progetto Italia site.
