The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, signed and illustrated by Umberto Ramano.
"But already, my desire and my will
were being turned like a wheel, all at one speed,
by the Love, which moves the sun and the other stars."
The Divine Comedy is a long Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun c. 1308 and completed in 1320, a year before he died in 1321. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works of world literature. The poem's imaginative vision of the afterlife represents the medieval worldview developed in the Western Church by the 14th century. The poem has three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso.
The narrative takes as its literal subject the state of the soul after death. It presents divine justice meted out as due punishment or reward and describes Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise or Heaven. Allegorically the poem represents the soul's journey towards God, beginning with the recognition and rejection of sin (Inferno), followed by the penitent Christian life (Purgatorio), followed by the soul's ascent to God (Paradiso). Dante draws on medieval Roman Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy derived from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. Consequently, the Divine Comedy has been called "the Summa in verse." In Dante's work, the pilgrim Dante has three guides: Virgil (who represents human reason), Beatrice (who represents divine revelation, theology, faith, and grace), and Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (who represents contemplative mysticism and devotion to Mary the Mother).
Erich Auerbach said, 'Dante was the first writer to depict human beings as the products of a specific time, place, and circumstance as opposed to mythic archetypes or a collection of vices and virtues; the Divine Comedy could be said to have inaugurated modern fiction.
The work was initially titled Comedìa (pronounced [komeˈdiːa]; so also in the first printed edition, published in 1472), Tuscan for "Comedy," later adjusted to the modern Italian Commedia. The adjective Divina was added by Giovanni Boccaccio due to its subject matter and lofty style. The first edition to name the poem Divina Comedia in the title was that of the Venetian humanist Lodovico Dolce, published in 1555 by Gabriele Giolito de Ferrari.
Please see the photos; more are available upon request.
Measures: 10.75 x 7 x 1.5
Clothbound, black (excellent) w/ gold lettering and design, the pages are pristine, topped w/gilt and rough-cut edges, the spine is tight, and the binding has no rubbing or damage. The sleeve is original and in good condition, showing wear on the edges (please see photos).
 
Please review the photos; more are available upon request
Thank you for visiting Anya Roze!
Au revoir till...