Le beatitudini evangeliche nel Purgatorio dantesco

Abstract

In her well-known essay written in 1984, Maria Chiavacci Leonardi noted that the beatitudes proclaimed at the end of each frame of Purgatory are generally considered by literary critics to be a marginal element in the realm. Her study questioned this type of approach, suggesting it does not allow us to fully understand the reason why Dante chose to insert the “speech on the mountain” in his imaginary path of purification. According to Leonardi, the beatitudes should instead be considered the real backbone of the cantica, and this interpretation leads to analyzing the entire structure and atmosphere of Purgatory from a different point of view, as closely interconnected with the beatitudes. I therefore propose a brief analysis concerning the proclamation of the beatitudes and their relationship with their narrative context, also taking into account the thematic cores of the cantos in which the beatitudes are inserted and suggesting some possible structural implications.