Reading Dante's Divine Comedy in Full: A 13 1/2 Hour Experience

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The reading began on a Saturday afternoon at 1:30 pm at Bryn Athyn College's Mitchell Performing Arts Center. The ten readers knew the journey would be long and would take them though heaven and hell and several languages (English and Italian, to be specific).

Their mission: the recitation of all three volumes of Dante's Divine Comedy: "Inferno," "Purgatorio," and "Paradiso."

The crowd ebbed and flowed throughout the thirteen and a half hours of reading, and included Giorgio Galanti from the Italian Consulate in Philadelphia, Bryn Athyn College and community members, and staff from the Philadelphia Inquirer. (Read the Inquirer article here.)

Rev. Eric Carswell, Vice Chancellor of Bryn Athyn College, and Dr. Christopher Clark, Bryn Athyn College President, both took turns reading, as did teachers, students, and guests.

The reading continued throughout the afternoon and evening, and did not cease until the early hours of Sunday morning — a full thirteen and a half hours after the readings began.

The bulk of the reading was done in English, though some were read in the original Italian with translations provided on a screen behind the reciter. Faithful readers even until the end read with enthusiasm and passion, finishing the evening with the memorable final cantos:

The event was presented by the American Italy Society of Philadelphia.