The Divine Comedy! Dante Alighieri’s epic 14,233-line narrative poem. This story of love, sin and redemption is widely celebrated as a literary classic and is recognised as a foundation stone in the propagation of modern Italian. The language of music. And Montegrappa has, legitimately I would say, paid tribute to this masterpiece with a great instrument.
The Divine Comedy is composed of 14,233 lines that are divided into three so called “cantiche” – Inferno (Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso (Paradise) – each consisting of 33 “cantos”. An initial canto, serving as an introduction to the poem and generally considered to be part of the first cantica, brings the total number of cantos to 100. It is generally accepted, however, that the first two cantos serve as a unitary prologue to the entire epic, and that the opening two cantos of each cantica serve as prologues to each of the three cantiche. So all in all, an incredibly long poem that has set a milestone in the universal literature and is still taught in Italian schools. Every Italian knows Dante, as he is simply called, and his most famous work. Even 700 years after his death.
The 9 circles
In fact, 2021 marks the 700th anniversary of Dante’s death. And Montegrappa honors Dante Alighieri, since Dante’s virtuosity continues to dazzle readers and historians alike, with few works more fabled than his terrifying “Inferno” or hell. Hell is, in Dante’s imagination, a deep funnel-shaped cavity that opens beneath Jerusalem and reaches the center of the Earth. It is composed of nine circles. Dante and Virgil make their way along the circles that gradually spiral down into the depths. As they descend, the circles become smaller; in fact, the fewer sinners punished in the circles, the farther they are from the surface. The larger circles are located higher up because the more widespread the sin that is punished in them and the greater the number of sinners condemned. The lower you go, the further away from God you are and the greater the gravity of the sin punished. A very interesting way of imagine the first kingdom of the otherworld. As you can imagine, this gave the Montegrappa artisans countless details to work on.
Get lost in details
Made in Italy, Dante Alighieri: Inferno is handcrafted from precious metals and a special ‘magma’ batch of Montegrappite artisanal resin. Heavenly writing performance meets high-precision micro-sculpting in a work that brings the supreme poet’s dark vision to life in your hand. From blind cap to top disc, every intricate element of Dante Alighieri: Inferno recounts Dante’s voyage from the mysterious forest to the icy bowels of hell. Lucifer’s pointed tail protrudes from the cap to form a pocket-clip of demonic intent. Very cool detail actually. Lost-wax casting reconstructs Dante’s nine circles of hell with meticulous detail. Beneath Limbo and the river of Acheron, every miniature chasm examines sins of increasing severity: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, and Wrath on the cap; Heresy, Violence, Fraud and Treachery on the barrel.
Numbers matter
Dante Alighieri: Inferno is the first in a trinity (3!) of writing instruments in Divina Commedia: a Montegrappa Collector Series based on the three-canticle structure of Dante’s masterpiece. Fountain pen and rollerball users are catered for with numbered limited editions of sterling silver (333 examples of each) and 18K gold (9 of each). Both tiers observe Dante’s rigorous use of the number three as a thematic, lyrical and structural device. A special presentation case is inspired by a leatherbound edition of Dante’s classic, with each writing instrument secured in place by the writer’s foreboding words “Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch’intrate” (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here). Yeah, sure… there is no hope to resist to the fashion of this wonderful piece. And there are 2 more to come: Purgatorio and Paradiso. So stay tuned for the next 2 chapter as they will leave you breathless. Believe me, it will be epic!
