Introduction
Missiles for the Future: Dante and DH

This introduction presents a cluster of essays exploring the intersection of Dante studies and the digital humanities, highlighting how digital methods reshape research, pedagogy, and public engagement. Situating the collection within the broader history of digital Dante projects, the editors emphasize both the opportunities and challenges of digital scholarship, including issues of access, collaboration, and innovation. The contributions showcase diverse methodologies—from distant reading and translation studies to pedagogical experiments, intertextual visualization, and allegorical databases—while interrogating the digital’s promise to democratize knowledge. Collectively, the essays demonstrate how digital tools expand the global reach, interpretive possibilities, and cultural relevance of Dante, fostering new interdisciplinary conversations and future-oriented scholarship. (b.d.)