The Orgy

"Per me si va fra la perduta gente" is the verse from canto III of Dante's Inferno which the sculptor places at the base of "The Orgy", made by Torquato Della Torre (1817-1855) in Florence. The sculpture shows a sleeping nude female figure abandoned on a canapé, a hand abandoned on a jug, a foot treading on the Gospel. At the foot of the armchair lie some elements with symbolic meaning: a skull, a snake, an oil lamp and a bat. At the time, the work caused much criticism and concern because of its strong anti-religious connotations and the immorality of the female nude, which exudes sensuality and seduction. The artist, on the other hand, conceived the work as both a moral allegory and a spectacle with strong erotic connotations, drawing inspiration from Dante to create a highly original image. "The Orgy" contains a series of allusive meanings closely linked to the development of those metaphorical languages that imposed themselves on the Risorgimento art, elaborating on the theme of love and death, change and rebirth, and becomes a metaphor, also through the quotation of the father of the country Dante, for the Risorgimento ideals of independence and national identity.