ON THE FIRST WOMAN TRANSLATOR OF DANTE'S 'THE DIVINE COMEDY' INTO ROMANIAN

This paper is concerned with the first Romanian translation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno and Purgatory, published in 1883 and, respectively 1888, at the Samitca Printing House in Craiova - after Ion Heliade Radulescu and Aron Densusianu translated only some fragments from this world literature great masterpiece. The translations were made by a woman writer, Maria P. Chitu, from Craiova, (1846-1930), who was a good expert in Italian language and literature. Also, there is written evidence that she made a translation of the "Paradise", but because of the illness of her daughter, Lucilla, it remained unpublished. When we speak of Maria Chitu, we have in mind a strong human personality, endowed with a vast culture, an encyclopaedic spirit, a person who had an enormous desire to know the Italian life in all its aspects: political, cultural, social, literary, artistic. Being for years the initiator of important local cultural events, Maria P. Chitu also organized exhibitions, theater and music evenings. In addition, she was a member of the "Society for the university students' assistance from Dolj", she supported the local literary movement and collaborated to the literary publications of Craiova.