Dante’s Chorographies. From the territory to the Comedy
Between the 13th and 14th centuries, medieval Italian culture witnessed the emergence of regional and local territorial representations more prominently than in the rest of Europe. This detailed chorography, which developed both in the visual language of cartography and the verbal language of writing, evidently corresponds to the new practices of urban society, playing a central role in the conquest of rural areas and the increase in mobility, thereby engaging in a process of conceptual appropriation of space. Despite the diversity of expressive tools, the graphic and verbal chorography of the early 14th century reflect similar forms of territorial knowledge, based on an odological perspective and the need to reproduce the actual spatial and proportional relationships between the geographical objects represented. Moreover, Dante’s Comedy contains important chorography, composed in the formalized language of poetry. The analysis of these passages reveals construction methods perfectly integrated into the knowledge practices and the culture of territorial representation characteristic of his time.
Giovanna Corazza è Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow presso il Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici dell’Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia con il progetto GEODETIC – Geography and Cartography in Dante’s Comedy (GA 101110048), che coinvolge il Dipartimento di Scienze Storiche, Geografiche e dell’Antichità dell’Università di Padova e il Center for Italian Studies della University of Notre Dame. Si interessa principalmente del rapporto tra geografia e letteratura nell’opera di Dante e nella produzione letteraria del XIV secolo, di cultura topografica e cartografica medievale, di interpretazione e ricezione dantesca.
The lecture is co-sponsored by the Medieval Institute.
HORIZON EUROPE
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. This event is part of the MSCA Project GEODETIC – 101110048 by Giovanna Corazza
The Italian Research Seminar, a core event of the Center for Italian Studies, aims to provide a regular forum for faculty, postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, and colleagues from other universities to present and discuss their current research. The Seminar is vigorously interdisciplinary, and embraces all areas of Italian literature, language, and culture, as well as perceptions of Italy, its achievements and its peoples in other national and international cultures. The Seminar constitutes an important element in the effort by Notre Dame's Center for Italian Studies to promote the study of Italy and to serve as a strategic point of contact for scholarly exchange.
Originally published at italianstudies.nd.edu.