Sagrantino pays homage to Dante

#CAPRAI4LOVE CELEBRATES THE 700TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SUPREME POET'S DEATH IN FOLIGNO ON 11 APRIL 1472 THE EDITIO PRINCEPS OF THE DIVINE COMEDY WAS PRINTED

Among the many Umbrian records, there is one of global significance that perhaps not everyone knows: on 11 April 1472, the editio princeps of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy was printed in Foligno, an ancient city in the province of Perugia.
In 1472, Foligno was a town where paper was produced and this production endured until the earthquake of 1997. The meeting between Giovanni Numeister prototype printer from Mainz, a pupil of Gutenberg, with the Foligno mintmaster Emiliano Orfini and Evangelista Angelini from Trevi gave the world the printing of the first book in history.

To celebrate Dante, innovator of the language and icon of Italian culture, whose 700th anniversary of his death falls this year, the Arnaldo Caprai winery presents a limited edition Montefalco Sagrantino d'artista, to highlight the art of the territory. The label is the work of Canadian artist Rick Rojnic, a reinterpretation of the portrait of Dante visible in the Montefalco Museum, part of the fresco cycle "Stories from the Life of Saint Francis" painted by Benozzo Gozzoli in 1452. Dante belonged to the Secular Franciscan Order and, in depicting him, Benozzo Gozzoli emphasises the Franciscan Rule as an element of the civilisation of his time. Franciscan spirituality is thus assumed as a value that can be grasped by many audiences.

The Divine Comedy, a mirror of the Italy of yesterday and today, is also celebrated by this bottle through the verses 'And so we went out to see the stars again' (Inferno XXXIV, 139) printed on the tissue: an auspicious message pointing the way to a future at last of freedom, prosperity and serenity.

The initiative is part of the #CAPRAI4LOVE project, which since 2013 has expressed the Arnaldo Caprai winery's vision and commitment to culture as a key element of sustainability. Previous editions of #CAPRAI4LOVE have financed the purchase of Benozzo Gozzoli's autograph letter and the restoration of Benozzo Gozzoli's frescoed portraits of Dante, Petrarch and Giotto, both of which can be seen at the Montefalco Museum.

With the purchase of the special edition of Montefalco Sagrantino 2015 (40 euros for the bottle and 80 euros for the magnum size) dedicated to the 700th Anniversary of Dante's death, which will be available from the first week of May 2021, you will be able to contribute to financing works for the enhancement of Montefalco's artistic and cultural heritage.