Dante's Inferno

From the photographer: “The stars have always accompanied human history. They have been a source of inspiration throughout the centuries and tools with which to narrate myths and legends of the ancient world through the constellations. They have accompanied our poets, sometimes becoming protagonists and iconic images in literature. Dante concluded the three canticles of the Divine Comedy with the word stars.

Everyone knows the verse written by the supreme poet at the end of the first cantica: ‘E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle. But the stars are also the protagonists of the last verse of Purgatory: ‘…pure and willing to ascend the stars’ and the last of Paradise: ‘…the love that moves the sun and the other stars.  And so the Milky Way becomes the protagonist of this image that tells us about one of the moments of Dante’s performance of Inferno at the Alcantara Gorges. Red lights illuminate the scene where Dante and Virgil are about to speak to Ulysses while the souls of the damned dance moaning on the riverbank. This in turn becomes a metaphor for the infernal rivers, first of all the Acheron and then the Styx. The gorge through which the river flows becomes the perfect setting to represent the circles and boils. And so it is that the stars become witnesses to Dante’s encounter with Virgil, Charon, Paolo and Francesca, Farinata degli Uberti, Ulysses,

Count Ugolino and Lucifer. Each song is recited to perfection and one is deeply moved to see Francesca speak of her love with slow cadence but passionate ardour. At the end, the play can only conclude perfectly with the protagonists accompanied by the Milky Way: e quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle!”

Technical details:
Canon 6d, sigma 14mm, f/2.2, iso 640, 20 sec & 8 sec iso 200