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Benedictine and Franciscan Monks: Forgotten Inventors

   Usually, when we think of religious orders, these things come to mind: a cloister, an abbey, a library, prayer in solitude, detachment from the world… All this in the cradle of a period defined as "dark" by historiography up to Romanticism: the Middle Ages . In this period the monks - especially the Benedictines of the various orders - were the custodians of Judeo-Christian but also classical culture, since thanks to their patient and meticulous transcriptions as scribes we have received almost all of the Greek and Latin works which we study today. Today we are grateful to them first of all for this.   However, many do not know that many products - material and immaterial - that we consume and use every day, come from monks who, using their ingenuity nourished by a profound spirituality, invented them due to practical necessities.    Personally, I find it amazing!    Let's begin…   The heavy plow   Plows were a primary agri...
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A unique experience: The Divine Comedy Musical

    



Hey! Welcome back! How are you doing?I hope everything is going well. Anyways today I wanted to share with you something different than usual. So… are you ready for it?

I had a thrilling experience a few days ago that looked like just yet another boring school trip to a Theatre in Rome. However, I can assure you, It was anything but boring.

 But what was it about?

It was a musical show about the Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri’s most widely-known poem, at the Brancaccio Theatre in Rome. The trip was organized by Ms. Titocci, our Italian and Latin teacher, who involved many other classes in this magical experience."Many students (I confess, I was among them at first) may think that such a topic for a musical show couldn’t be of any interest, as they've had enough of it in school. But let’s not judge a book by its cover!

Who is Dante Alighieri, and why is The Divine Comedy so important?

 I’m honestly a bit surprised that you don't know one of the pillars of Italian literature; however, it’s not a big deal. I will try to briefly introduce his monumental work to you.

  

Dante was an Italian poet, writer, and philosopher who lived between the 13th and 14th centuries. His Divina Commedia is widely considered one of the most important poems of the Middle Ages and the greatest literary work in the Italian language. But why is it so?
It discusses the state of the soul after death and the divine justice acting as punishment or rewards.

It allegorically tells Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory up to Heaven, representing every souls’ journey towards God. Dante describes everything he sees, from the most painful tortures in Hell, to the most beautiful things in heaven, doing so he wants to redirect everyone’s path to the right way.


The Musical Shaw

I would talk about Dante for hours, but now we should focus on the musical show. As soon as we got there I immediately saw how huge and gorgeous it was, I was astonished. We sat and I noticed that the whole theatre was packed. After waiting just a couple of minutes the show started. Since the very first act I understood that what I was going to watch wasn’t foregone.



The show went one and summarized some cantos of each partition (Hell, Purgatory and Heaven) showing the most-known passages using breath-taking choreographies which helped me to immerse myself completely into the show. I was enchanted by the excellence of the actors who could also reach jaw breaking notes while singing.

In my opinion, the best part was when, close to the end, the laser effects started to enhance the scene, and we were absolutely amazed. Or even when they told the love story between Paolo and Francesca in Hell; when, in the end, they started a procession between the seats and concluded the show on the stage

 


 Conclusion

So If you asked me whether I imagined any of this, I would absolutely answer that even if you swore on god, I wouldn’t believe it. What about you instead? Did you fall into the trap of prejudice?

Unfortunately taking photos or videos was severely prohibited so I can’t show you any of that show. However, what I can do is to tell you that if you ever get the chance to go there for a show, especially for this one, I promise you won’t regret it. For now we’re done, I’ll see you next time, Stay Tuned!

Today's Blogger

Hello there! I'm Francesco Elviretti, a 16-year-old student in my third year of the Liceo Scientifico. I find great pleasure in studying subjects like mathematics, physics, biology, and all things science, but my true passion lies in the field of medicine. I've joined this project to share fascinating insights with you, things you might not have discovered yet. Care to place a bet? XD
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