By Cole Driggs

REXBURG—Brigham Young University-Idaho’s Special Collection and Archives Department is featuring an exhibit entitled “Dante 700,” memorializing the 700-year anniversary of the death of the poet, writer, and philosopher Dante Alighieri.

The exhibit is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the second floor of the BYU-Idaho David O. Mckay Library, located at 311 S. Center Street. Admission is free and the exhibit is open to the public. 

Guests can view articles, art, writing, and various other displays celebrating Dante’s work. A virtual walkthrough is also offered, allowing participants to hear a podcast-style walk-through of the exhibit. 

In addition to the exhibit, BYU-Idaho will be holding an event about Dante and his impact on modern-day academia, Oct. 28 at 4 p.m. in the BYU-Idaho Manwaring Center Little Theater. The event will have presentations from various faculty members from the religion, English, and humanities departments.

This exhibit has been a long time in the making. 

“The idea came about when a member of the religion faculty thought the school should do something to celebrate the 700-year anniversary of Dante’s death,” head facilitator Rebecca Dorny said. “This request was given around February. After this, the idea went down the grapevine and the request was given to BYU-Idaho’s Special Collectives and Archives Department. We decided we had plenty of items from that time period so we were able to put on an exhibit to use these items and talk more about Dante.” 

The BYU-Idaho Special Collectives department holds exhibits such as “Dante 700” every semester.

For more information, visit the department’s website or contact the department directly at 208-496-9540.