Unveiling, at the presence of Ambassador of Italy in Lebanon H.E. Nicoletta Bombardiere, of the permanent artistic installation “ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TIME”, inspired to the Divine Comedy and created by the Lebanese architect and artist Nayla Romanos Iliya. The installation, which draws its inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy, was specifically created for the square adjacent to St Elias church in Kantari.
The installation echoes the poem’s theme and structure, narrating Dante’s travels through hell, purgatory and paradise: an allegory of man’s journey through life towards salvation, highlighting the consequences of sin and the glories of Heaven and celebrating universalism and goodness as ideals.
The deep-rooted symbolism of the theme is acutely pertinent in Lebanon, where decades of negligence and corruption have tested both individual and social consciousness to their limits. The comedy has turned into a tragedy, and while paradise seems a long way ahead, the art aims at instilling some belief that there exists, still, a ray of hope.
Live music and dance performance, specifically commissioned for the event, will be performed every 45 minutes, from 5:30 pm to 9 pm.