Il concetto corporale De Sanctis e la “concezione” dantesca

Abstract

The present essay focuses on De Sanctis’ Lectures on Dante, held during his exile in Turin and Zürich, in order to show how aesthetics, politics and religion converge in his works. De Sanctis reads Dante’s journey throughout Hell, Purgatory and Paradise both as a diary and a drama, which reintroduces action, passions and a multitude of feelings in the peace and stillness that rule the kingdom of God after the final Judgment. De Sanctis tries to illustrate how Dante unifies body and concept, moving from allegories and personifications towards figures and real people, such as Beatrice, Francesca, Vanni Fucci and Ugolino. Dante’s conception of the relationship between history and eternity plays a leading role in De Sanctis’ reworking of Hegel’s Aesthetics.