Made available by the Dante Alighieri Society of Rome, “Dove il sì suona” has landed in Koper, an exhibition on the centuries-old history of our language that has already stopped in many cities around the world, including the Istrian city of Pola, cited by Dante in some famous verses of the Divine Comedy. The exhibition was born as a traveling version of the great exhibition organized in Florence in 2003 by Luca Serianni, an eminent linguist who was vice president of the historic Society founded by Giosuè Carducci, a point of reference for learning Italian abroad, until his premature death.

A path, the one now set up at Palazzo Gravisi by the Dante Committee of Capodistria chaired by Valentina Petaros Jeromela, which invites you to discover through texts and images the long journey made by Italian, from its origins to the present day, in its different aspects: from the relationship with Latin to that with other languages, from the definition of the norm to the close connection with literature, up to its use in cinema, music and art. The documentation begins with the Placito di Capua, the birth certificate of the Italian language, which has handed down to us the famous formula “Sao ko kelle terre …” and dates back to the year 960, up to the major Italian writers of the twentieth century, such as Montale and Calvino. On this occasion, panels were also set up on the presence of Dante in the Slovenian language and on the translations of his great poem, to which Dr. Petaros has dedicated numerous studies and publications.

The organization of the exhibition, which boasts the patronage of the Italian Embassy in Slovenia, is, as it was said, the Dante of Capodistria, with the contribution of the Central Office in Rome and with the support of the Italian Community "Santorio Santorio", as well as of the two Can (coastal and municipal). At the inauguration, the importance of the initiative as a significant moment of promotion of the Italian language and culture in the territory was underlined, while the secretary general of the Dante Alighieri Society Alessandro Masi sent a message in which he expressed the hope "that the exhibition can contribute to strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two countries, be a further cultural bridge between the Slovenian and Italian people and be a stimulus for future activities" of the Committee.

The exhibition “Where Yes Sounds” will remain at Palazzo Gravisi until June 9th.

Ornella Rossetto
Source: Radio Capodistria – 10/05/2024