Dante in the altro polo

interpretation of Dante, which has engaged the local intellectual elite since the founding of the republic, and on the series of translations of the Divine Comedy. Argentine versions have helped to pave a path of ideological and aesthetic appropriation. In the 19th century, this beacon of the Western canon played a central role in the building of a young nation without tradition. In the 20th century, the Divine Comedy became the object of new literature: every important Argentine writer had read it fruitfully. The presentation will then examine the author’s own edition, published in Buenos Aires in 2021: its aims, characteristics and innovations, as well as the relationship between the text and its paratexts. The John Freccero Lecture Series is a series of distinguished lectures that showcase important and innovative research in the field of Italian Studies. Co-sponsored and co-organized by NYU’s Department of Italian Studies and Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, this series honors the memory of Professor John Freccero, one of the most influential figures in the field of Italian Studies. A world-renowned scholar of Dante, among other subjects, Professor Freccero, after teaching at Johns Hopkins University, Cornell University, Yale University, and Stanford University, was Professor of Italian Studies at New York University from 1992 to 2015, where his intellectual and educational vision was instrumental in the founding and growth of our Department of Italian Studies. The John Freccero Lecture Series is supported by a generous gift from the late Dr. Thomas Bellezza and Mr. John Jensen.