DANTE: THE he Poet and The Statesman

The Philippine Italian Association (PIA), the National Library of the Philippines (NLP), the Ateneo de Manila University, and the University of Asia and the Pacific have invited H. E. Marco Clemente, Ambassador of Italy to the Philippines, to present Dante Alighieri, the world known author of the Divine Comedy and “father” of the Italian language, from the point of view of history. 

This lecture will focus on Dante the man, particularly the statesman, behind the Poet we all know. It will expound on Dante’s love for his hometown, Florence; on how he served his city as a Priore; and even on his theories on the state that led to his exile.

The lecture will reveal how the Divine Comedy alludes to Dante’s years as a statesman and how even the writing itself of the Divine Comedy was impacted by this fundamental period of his life.

Ambassador Marco Clemente graduated in 1983 from the Luiss University in Rome with a degree in Political Science. He joined the Diplomatic Service in 1984. He was conferred the award of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic in 2009. His two main Cultural passions are the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and the Italian Opera, both of which have become, over his many years of service, instrumental in his diplomatic work. 

Ambassador Clemente assumed office in Manila on 2 September 2021 as Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia.

In celebration of Dante dì / Dante Day