Matelda in the Terrestrial Paradise

This analysis of the enigmatic figure of Matelda, guardian of the Terrestrial Paradise in Dante's Purgatorio, considers both the unresolved question of Matelda's historical identity, in particular whether Dante is alluding to the historical personage, Countess Matilda of Tuscany (1046-1115), and the numerous critical glosses that have emerged over the years, whereby Matelda has been interpreted as a symbolic figure, for example, as the biblical typology of the active/contemplative life, as the representation of human wisdom, or in a variety of other symbolic guises. Whilst alluding to recognisable idyllic poetic images, such as the donna angelicata of the vernacular tradition, Dante's conceptualisation of Matelda is nevertheless aligned to the pilgrim-poet's own development in via of a redemptive poetics in which the writer articulates an urgent message of reform, at both the secular and ecclesiastical levels. The linking of Matelda with the notion of the loss of the prelapsarian state of humankind's innocence and her supervision of the penitential cleansing rites performed on Dante-protagonist, in anticipation of his ascent to Paradise in the company of Beatrice, represent crucial moments in Dante's mapping out of prudential history for his readers and his call for a recovery of Christian values

Francesca Revisited

Canto V of 'Inferno', in which Dante meets the souls of Paolo Malatesta and Francesca da Rimini, has long been a source of inspiration for poets, writers, and musicians. It also has been a source of much debate and critical entrepreneurship. Unhappily, Dantes characterization of Francesca, even until recently, has engendered a number of critical expositions that safeguard what can only be described as a fallacious dichotomy, whereby the figure of Francesca has been subjected to rigid stereotyping, resulting in extemporaneous fictions that are not borne out by the text. This article examines the figure of Francesa da Rimini in Dante's 'Comedy'

Speed of Sound Measurements of liquid methane at cryogenic temperature

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Of Thieves and Salvation Victories: Purgatorio V, 133

Dante's discourse with the penitent souls in the 'Purgatorio' reveals that these shades are characterised by a tendency towards self-effacement that is radically different from the destructive and self-absorbed attitude of the infernal spirits. Whereas the latter preserve an inner core of obduracy devoid of remorse, the contrite souls in 'Purgatory', through their trusting openness and willingness to communicate information about their private lives and the wider social and political circles of influence in which they once moved, help the Wayfarer to gain immeasurably in courage and inner strength. Throughout his journey, Dante-character is privy to surprising disclosures and, if the souls in Purgatory express amazement at his living presence among them, he is equally astonished by the news they relay to him, which has the potential to alter the destiny of members of the living Christian community and also to advance the spiritual cause of members of the community in Purgatory: "qui per quei di là molto savanza" (Purg. III, 145). Through his encounter with the shade of Pia in 'Purgatorio' V, the Pilgrim Dante is led to a higher level of spiritual cognition, not only as regards the souls in 'Purgatory', whose dialogues move back and forth in temporal and spatial terms as they reconstruct past events, relationships and places on earth, but also in relation to social networks and the interconnectedness of human society at large

[BOOK REVIEW] Aldo S. Bernardo & Anthony L. Pellegrini (2006). Companion to Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Comprehensive Guide for the Student and General Reader, Revised Edition.

This revised edition, at a distance of 38 years since its appearance as A Critical Study Guide to Dante’s Divine Comedy (a volume long out of print), offers useful study aids, including schematic charts, visual representations of the topography of the Comedy, biographical highlights and comparative chronological data. Composed in an accessible, unadorned style, Bernardo’s and Pellegrini’s companion study guide has appeal for English-speaking readers such as undergraduates, members of Dante reading or study groups and general readers of the poem

"Unrecorded Lives": Oral Narratives of a Group of First-Generation Campanian Women Residing in Adelaide, South Australia. [abstract].

This paper will focus on issues of identity and cultural maintenance, as evidenced by the oral testimonies of a generational cohort who were born in the region of Campania in Southern Italy and who emigrated to Australia in the 1950s-1960s. Although, during the post-war period of mass migration by Italians to overseas destinations, an Assisted Migration Agreement was signed by Australia and Italy (in 1951), the majority of Campanian migrants to Adelaide were not the beneficiaries of assisted passages. Instead, sponsorship by spouses, relatives or paesani, followed by cluster settlement patterns, were strong features of transnational immigration by Campanians to South Australia in the post-WWII period. Therefore the journeying and resettlement experiences of this project’s sampling of first generation Campanian women were predominantly influenced by family kinship networks operating within a system of chain migration

Soft-sediment deformation structures in seismically affected deep-sea Miocene turbidites (Cilento Basin, southern Italy)

Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) are widespread in the upper part of the S. Mauro Formation (Cilento Group, Middle-Late Miocene). The succession is represented mainly by thick and very thick, massive, coarse-grained sandstones, deposited by rapid sedimentation of high-density turbidity currents. The most common SSDS are short pillars, dishes, sedimentary sills and convolutions. They occur mostly in the upper parts of sandstone beds. Vertical tubes of 4-5 cm in diameter and up to 50 cm long constitute the most striking structures. They begin in the middle part of sandstone beds, which are basically massive or contain faint dish structures. These tubes can bifurcate upwards and/ or pass into bedding-parallel veins or dikes. The vertical tubes sometimes form sand volcanoes on the then sedimentary surface. The SSDS are interpreted as the result of earthquake-triggered liquefaction and/or fluidisation of the turbidites that were affected by the seismic shocks. This implies that the deformed layers should be considered as seismites

Speed of sound measurements of two binary natural gas mixtures (methane plus n-butane and methane plus isopentane) at cryogenic temperatures and in liquid phase

This paper presents accurate speed of sound measurements in two specific single-phase liquefied natural gas mixtures (methane + isopentane and methane +n-butane) for temperatures ranging from (100 to 160) K and pressures up to 12 MPa, with expanded relative uncertainties (k = 2) between (0.27 and 0.35) % for methane + n-butane and between (0.26 and 0.30) % for the methane + isopentane. These measurements have been obtained using the double pulse-echo technique. The experimental results of these measurements were compared with the values predicted by the GERG-2008 model and the most recent fundamental equation of state for the calculation of thermodynamic properties of liquefied natural gases, EOS-LNG

New Vistas in Eighteenth Century Critical Methodology: The Contribution of Gian Vincenzo Gravina

Gian Vincenzo Gravina, distinguished jurisconsult, energetic reformer, particularly in the field of Dante Scholarship, and founding member of the literary movement 'Arcadia', is vividly remembered for his part in the 1711 schism within the Society. For twenty-one years Gravina had been an active participant and organiser within the fraternity. During that time, Gravina had helped organize and administer the activities of the 'Accademia' and her eight 'colonie'

Il “ragionevole accomodamento” nella giurisprudenza italiana in materia ecclesiastica*

The “reasonable accommodation” in Italian jurisprudence in ecclesiastical matters ABSTRACT: With judgment n. 24414/2021, the United Sections of the Supreme Court suggested “reasonable accommodation” as a key to resolving conflicts over religious symbols in public school classrooms. This approach, which is typically used to promote equality for workers with disabilities, has been applied to this dispute in a novel way. This paper intends to reconstruct the Court’s proposal of a “reasonable accommodation” model after analyzing the original features of this approach. From the investigation of nature and the application of “reasonable accommodation” in the decision of the Court, this work seeks to verify whether this model can be effectively and legally relevantly applied in the public school context. SOMMARIO: 1. Il crocifisso e l’inedita chiave di risoluzione dei conflitti dopo la sentenza n. 24414 delle Sezioni Unite della Corte di cassazione - 2. La natura del principio del “ragionevole accomodamento” - 3. Il “ragionevole accomodamento” come metodo “mite” - 4. Limiti e prospettive - 5. Brevi osservazioni conclusive