The path Dante followed in Paradise, a prelude to his final vision of God, is the proof of an experience possible for all men: it is the experience of a real encounter, possible in this world with God’s mercy. So for Dante his fascination for creation, the beautiful face of his beloved Beatrice, and his deep love for her are, literally, God’s glory (that is to say, God’s manifestation) to such an extent that they provoke in him a gratitude and irresistible attraction for the Mystery that creates all things, the source of joy that a poet tries to intuit and represent without ever exhausting. We modern readers, aware that we are in piccioletta barca (in a small boat), want to follow in the wake of Dante’s vessel per lo gran mar de l’essere (in the great ocean of Being), in order to find again, together with this poet, the original source of that attraction. It is an attraction that we would like to re-awaken in our daily life, so that all the hope of fulfillment, that is, of finding the port of complete happiness that awaits each of us, may shine in our lives every day. The purpose of this exhibition is to re-discover a decisive yet strangely forgotten work, especially in the Italian schools that claim Dante’s Paradise is too difficult and, even worse, that it is a spiritualistic and, thus, no longer relevant, work. One may endorse this opinion based on hearsay, but we hope that the visitors to our exhibition will no longer be able to agree with it. By promoting the knowledge of this third book of Dante’s and showing its beauty, this exhibition can overcome the negative prejudices about Paradise. Our plan is to offer a presentation of the most important characters, and comments on a few selected passages, while looking into certain themes of this book (such as mercy) and particular situations.

Edited by Edoardo Barbieri, Simone Carriero, Gaia Cavestri, Michele Colombo, Daniele Gomarasca, Alessandro Ledda, Gianluca Sgroi, and Marco Vianello. In cooperation with Associazione Centocanti: Laura Aldorisio, Lucia Benedettini, Valentina Costantini, Irene Dionigi, Roberto Olmo, Paolo Valentini.