Overview
- The two-volume illuminated manuscript was unveiled in the Italian Senate and will be on view through January 16.
- The volumes arrived from Modena under heavy security; they are usually kept locked in a safe and seldom exhibited.
- Created between 1455 and 1461 for Duke Borso d’Este, the work features calligraphy by Pietro Paolo Marone with miniatures by Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi.
- Its opulent imagery uses gold and Afghan lapis lazuli, and Italy’s Culture Ministry hails it as a supreme expression of miniature art.
- Provenance traces Este and Habsburg ownership before Giovanni Treccani bought the manuscript in 1923 and donated it to the Italian state.