The summer heat has me thinking of Dante's "Divina Commedia," the
Divine Comedy. In the first part, the Inferno, the journey begins in
Hell, where Dante and the poet Virgil encounter the damned and witness
the punishments to the unrepentant. In Purgatorio, Dante emerges from
the frozen floor of hell and begins his ascent toward heaven where, in
Paradiso, Dante is reunited with Beatrice, the love of his life,
described as "l'amore che move il sole e l'altra stelle," or the love
that moves the sun and other stars.
The "Divina Commedia" was Dante Alighieri's autobiographical dream
journey after the events leading to his exile from Tuscany in 1301.
Beatrice, whose "love at first sight" so inspired him, died in 1290.
For the next 10 years Dante fought in the Guelph-Ghibelline conflict,
striving to keep Florentines free from the strict papal rule. When the
Guelphs split into opposing papal sides, Dante supported the lessening
of papal rule. He was asked to be a delegate to Rome, where he was
tricked into staying while the pro-papal Guelphs ransacked Florence.
The new rulers committed Dante to exile, from which he would never
return.
While spending the remainder of his life in the Veneto region, in
Valpollicella, Dante dreamed of Beatrice, and of Tuscany, his Bello
Ovile, or "fair sheep hold" where he slept like a lamb as a child. It
was here he wrote the "Divina Commedia" and lived out his life,
prolific in word and prose. He became known as the godfather of the
Italian language by uniting dialects from the many separate states. He
heard the call of troubadours and took to classical antiquity while
becoming the greatest composer of the Italian language. But his violent
and angry political letters sent to officials back home kept his exile
in effect and Dante remained in the north until he died in 1321.
In June of this year, the Florence Cultural Committee voted in favor of
removing the exile, and along with "cultural rehabilitation," offered
civic rehabilitation and a re-establishment of Dante's family within
Tuscany.
It just so happens that Dante's family had been making wine in
Valpollicella for 650 years, since shortly after his death. In 1353,
Pietro Alighieri, Dante's son, set up the Casal dei Ronchi estate and
worked the land there. The Alighieri family eventually married into the
noble Tuscan family of Serego and today, 20 generations after Dante,
Count Pieralvise Serego Alighieri produces wine in Tuscany and carries
on the poet's tradition. Near Grosseto, in Maremma, Alighieri works
with Sandro Boscaini of Valpollicella's Masi, producers of the fabled
Amarone and Campofiorin, one of my long-standing favorite Italian wines
(great pizza wine!). Here they produce wines of the local region and
tradition, including reds based on sangiovese.
In a great twist, prior to news of Dante's re-citizenship, the Serego
Alighieri family had released a wine in honor of Dante and his dreams,
called Bello Ovile. In splendid timing, the wine's release came as news
of Dante's reconciliation was announced. I recently enjoyed a bottle of
the 2005 Poderi Del Bello Ovile, a Rosso di Toscano- (IGT) classified
wine. The blend of mostly sangiovese, with canaiolo and ciliegiolo, is
a fitting tribute to the poet. It is dark, smoky and quite dry, with
wonderful aromas and flavors of cherries, plums, licorice and violets.
This wine would be a great companion to an evening spent nibbling on
bread and little bits of Tuscan fare, or pizza and pasta, while holding
open a copy of Dante's "Convivo," "La Vita Nuova" or the "Divina
Commedia."
Dante may have never ascended to his own Paradiso or returned to his
Bello Ovile in this life, but wrote of his return in a passage from
Paradiso "in another voice and other fleece" he would return to
Florence a great poet. With the release of this wine, the Alighieri
family celebrates the return of its greatest son and all of Florence
honors one of history's greatest poets, linguists and political
activists. Cheers! Remember, wine reveals truth.
Drew Stofflet is the sommelier for Ella, in Carbondale. Correspond with him at aspendrew@hotmail.com.
