About Us

The Dante Alighieri Society is one of Canberra’s most successful cultural associations helping to foster and enhance the local community’s longstanding love affair with Italian language and culture.  The Society takes its name from Dante Alighieri, the reputed father of the modern Italian language and author of the Divine Comedy, and one of the most illustrious poets of our Western culture and civilization.  The Society is the local face of an international network of over 500 independent local committees (over 400 of which operate outside of Italy) affiliated with the Italian national Dante Alighieri Society with headquarters in Rome.   

The Dante Alighieri Society was first established in Italy in 1889 with the primary objective of promoting the Italian language and culture throughout the world.  Like other local expressions of the society, the Canberra Dante Alighieri Society, is a locally constituted non-profit association, managed and operated by dedicated volunteers.  Its membership is open to anyone with an interest in Italian language and culture and things Italian generally.  The Canberra branch of the Society has been actively promoting Italian language and culture continuously for some 40 years. It has around 400 members and supporters and is one of the most active branches of the Society in Australia.

The Society’s main activities in Canberra revolve around the teaching of Italian and the promotion of Italian culture.  For more than a decade, the Society has been the primary provider of Italian language classes for adults in the Territory.  The classes cater for all levels of proficiency from beginners to advanced and are held on weekday evenings.  Each year some 200-300 students attend the classes, taught by native Italian speakers.  As a non-profit organization, the class fees are modest.  Depending on demand, the Society also offers a course designed specifically for travellers visiting Italy.

In addition to formal language classes, the Society offers free conversation evenings on Thursdays to all members.  The conversation groups cater for all levels of proficiency and provide an excellent opportunity to practise the language.  

The Society also organises a range of cultural events throughout the year including talks on art, music, history, literature, cinema etc, as well as social activities.  These events are advertised in the Dante Review, the Society's monthly newsletter to members.  

The Society's choir - Dante Musica Viva - has been presenting to the public Italian folk and popular songs for over five years.  There are no auditions for membership of the choir.

Every year, the Society offers its financial members access to Italian language courses in Italy at a reduced cost - discounts of up to 40% are available for various language institutions in Italy.  All current financial members of the Society are eligible to apply for these discounts.

Individuals interested in joining the Dante Alighieri Society and/or enrolling in its language courses should contact the Society’s office on (02) 6247 1884 or by writing to PO Box 979, Civic Square, ACT 2608 or by email: dantecanberra@ozemail.com.au.

About Dante Alighieri

Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) is generally considered to be one of the greatest Italian poets and writer of the Italian vernacular.  For this reason, Dante was chosen to be the figurehead for a group of societies around the world, with the desire to promote Italian language and culture.