Creating the figures in the same book as the poem, just as miniaturists did when Dante Alighieri wrote his verses: that's how Francesco Carbone illustrated the entire Divine Comedy. The work of the painter, engraver, and essayist is enclosed in the exhibition "Innocenze – la Commedia di Dante," which will be inaugurated on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 5:30 pm at the Sala Xenia (Trieste, Riva III Novembre, 7). Antonia Blasina Miseri, president of the Gorizia committee of the Dante Alighieri Society, will introduce the event, while the presentation will be conducted by journalist Francesca Schillaci. The exhibition will remain open until Sunday, January 28, 2024 (from 10 am to 12 pm and from 4 pm to 6 pm).

Within the exhibition, there will be some in-depth discussions on Dante's Divine Comedy with professors from the University of Trieste.

The third meeting will take place on Thursday, January 25, at 5:30 pm, with Professor Maria Peressi from the University of Trieste, who will talk about "Dante, poet of science."

Innocenze enjoys the patronage of the University of Trieste and the University of Pula and was made possible thanks to the contribution of the Dante Alighieri Society and the cultural association Il Ponte rosso.

In Innocenze, Francesco Carbone, unlike the miniaturists who created figures at the margins of the text, brings forms to life that often overflow, sometimes occupying the entire page, creating a unity where words and drawings intertwine. The pages, as if they were matrices of an engraver, were then digitally reworked and printed. Ancient and modern techniques are thus united: the result is a long trace of one of the possible experiences of reading – always adventurous – the Divine Comedy. The "figure-texts" alternate with variations on the Crucifixion. The sacrifice of Christ, the sacrifice of the Innocent, is for Dante the condition that grants man (the man who for Ezra Pound is every man) salvation from the Dark Wood. And the tragedy of violated innocences is the dark counterpoint of every time, every place.

Francesco Carbone was born in Rome and lives in Trieste. He is the author of the essay "From Hitler to Casablanca via Hollywood. Jewish Filmmakers Fleeing from Nazism" (2011), "The Privileges of Ignorance" (2013), and "Clear Thoughts of Love" (2017). He has also written for the theater and founded and directed the literary and art magazine il compagno segreto (www.compagnosegreto.it). He collaborates with the art and culture magazine Il ponte rosso (https://www.ilponterosso.eu). He has created award-winning short films in national and international festivals and has curated various film festivals for the University of Trieste. He is a painter and engraver: his works have been exhibited on various occasions, curated by Maria Campitelli. For the Dante Alighieri Society, he created the figures of Dante's Divine Comedy, exhibited in Italy and Croatia and now collected in two volumes: "Pictura Dantis" (2021) and "Innocenze" (2023). For Claudio Grisancich, he created the figures of Franz Kafka in "Vita Activa Nuova" (Trieste 2023) and illustrated "Nothing is certain, but write," to be published soon (Fuorilinea, Rome 2024).