AŻAD, together with the Italian Cultural Institute and Klabb Kotba Maltin, is tomorrow commemorating the 700th death anniversary of Dante Alighieri with the launch of a new edition of the Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) in Maltese.

The three organisations, under the auspices of the Italian Embassy, are first holding a wreath-laying ceremony at the monument of the Italian poet and writer in St Anne Street, Floriana, tomorrow at 9.30am.

Alfred Palma translated the epic poem into Maltese

The book launch will take place later on, at 7pm, at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. There will be a speech by President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici and messages from Italian Ambassador Fabrizio Romano; Alfred Palma, who translated the epic poem into Maltese; Massimo Sarti, director of the Italian Cultural Institute; Claudio Marazzini, president of the Accademia della Crusca; Richard Muscat, president of Fondazzjoni Fortunato u Enrico Mizzi; and Louis Galea, president of AŻAD.

These will be followed by readings in Maltese and Italian of excerpts from the Infern/Inferno part of Dante’s masterpiece. Actors Mikhail Basmadjian, Charlotte Stafrace, Paul Portelli and students Glen Bonnici, Patrick Sammut and Ilaria Labbate from the Department of Italian, University of Malta, will take part.