LA RAPPRESENTAZIONE DEL POTERE POLITICO NEL PARADISO DANTESCO

The thesis deals with the representation of political power in Dante's Paradiso. The first chapter focuses on the character of the emperor Justinian, the author of the Corpus legislative body (a restoration of Roman law), whom Dante encounters in Mercury's sky. The chapter underlines the importance of the emperor's narrative on Roman history, which reveals Dante's political vision of history, centered on the central role of the Empire. Then it draws a parallelism between Justinian and Dante, as both the characters aim at earthly glory and are inspired by God's inspiration at the same time, since both their works have political targets. Finally there is a connection between Justinian word's regarding the translation of the imperial capital from Rome to Byzantium made by Constantine, and the Church's sacrilegious translation to Avignon, contemporary to Dante and the composition of the poem. The second chapter deals with the figure of Charles Martel, whom Dante encounters in Venus's sky as a symbol of love and charity. These are political virtues necessary to the well-being of the imperial system conceived by Dante. Through the words of Charles Martel, the poet marks a contrast between this blessed spirit and his living brother Robert Anjou, king of Naples at the moment of the composition of the poem, whom Dante despises both as enemy of the Empire and as a monarch who lacks those skills which are necessary to rule a kingdom. Charles Martel critics the brother's greed and incompetence, showing how his vices are the opposite of the ideal political model conceived by the Florentine poet. The third chapter describes the encounter with the ancestor Cacciaguida, among the militant spirits of Mars. The words of the ancestor mark the contrast between the XII˙century Florence in which he lived, when aristocratic families lived in peace and harmony, and the contemporary XIV˙century Florence, rebellious to the authority of the Empire and marked by greed, moral decay and bloody conflicts. The last chapter deals with the eagle, symbol of the Empire, which Dante sees in Jupiter's sky. The chapter focuses on the role of the eagle as an emblem of political justice, considering its harsh criticism of the anti-Christian nature of the contemporary pope John XXII and of contemporary European monarchs who promote wars and disorder. In the end the chapter focuses on the spirits placed on the eagle's eye, as historical representative rulers who promoted God's justice according also to the central role of the Empire in Dante's political thought.