From Hell to the Empyrean

Although since the fifteenth-century studies and comments have been dedicated to the 'Dante scientist', this is the first exhibition that presents to the public the scientific aspects of the poet's work, framing his knowledge in the culture of his time.
Works of art, manuscripts, drawings, three-dimensional models and multimedia products on the cosmological system, physical geography and spiritual geography illustrate the passages of the Commedia, the Convivio and other works that contain more or less explicit references to scientific themes.
Among the various sciences that we find in Alighieri's poetic work, cosmography – especially with regard to the rich, detailed and imaginary onto-geometric structures of the afterlife – is certainly the one that has the greatest relevance for our times.
The reconstructions and Dante's fantasies on the structure of the world outside our experience will provide important ideas to scholars who must look for metaphors – often visual – to describe phenomena outside and far from the perception of our senses.
The rich graphic material of the Uffizi Cabinet of Prints and Drawings in the catalogue, together with the splendid codices and ancient maps, illustrate how the artists of the past have tried to translate Dante's fantasies into visual (and often beautifully abstract) forms.