Works on new Italian language museum will begin on 700th anniversary of Dante's death.

Italy is to have a Museum of the Italian Language, in Florence, with works to begin in 2021 on the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri.

The museum will be housed in a wing of the S. Maria Novella complex that played a decisive role in Dante‘s studies and in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy.

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Originally it had been hoped to open the museum on 25 March for Dantedì, the annual celebration of the Father of the Italian language, however the project has been stalled by the covid-19 pandemic.

The new museum, which will overlook Via della Scala, will outline the history and evolution of the Italian language and celebrate Italy's great writers, from Dante to Boccaccio, Petrarch to Machiavelli.

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The museum intends to have an international appeal as well as being accessible to younger visitors by adopting an interactive approach.

The project has received funding of €4.5 million from the culture ministry under Italy's Grandi Progetti scheme.