We have just two more significant sculptures to go. The first is Bart Sanciolo’s ten metre high bronze sculpture which depicts Dante Aligheri’s ‘Divine Comedy’. The piece is situated near the Thomas Cherry Building at the University’s main bus stop and is also in close proximity to the Science precinct.
Dante’s Divine Comedy was Sanciolo’s first major commission in public art and is a tribute to the early 14th century literary masterpiece, a text regarded as a powerful and enduring symbol of European culture and civilisation which also acted as a precursor of modern political and scientific language. [1] Sanciolo’s pyramid structure depicts various events from the comedy occurring in chronological order from the base upwards. [2] Begun in 1980 and completed in 1983, the work was installed at this busy interchange in 1986. [3] The cost of the sculpture was donated by members of the Italian community and La Trobe became its custodian when the sculpture was presented to the University at its official unveiling in 1987. [4] The piece was classified by the National Trust in 1994 and remains one of La Trobe’s most well-known artworks to this day. [5]
[1]Vincent Alessi, La Trobe University Sculpture Park, p 16.
[2]Ibid.
[3]Ibid.
[4]Ibid.
[5]Ibid.
