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One Among the most spectacular examples of renaissance One of the illuminated manuscripts, the 15th-century Borso d’Este Bible, is going on rare public display as part of the Vatican’s Holy Year celebrations.
The two-volume masterpiece, famous for its miniature paintings in gold and Afghan lapis lazuli, was unveiled on Thursday. Italian management committeeWhere it will remain on display till January 16.
The Bible is usually kept in a safe in a library in Modena and is rarely displayed in public. It was taken to Rome under heavy security and its arrival at the Senate was televised, as workers pulled two large red boxes from an unmarked van and then removed the volumes, which were covered in bubble wrap.
The Bible was created between 1455 and 1461 by the calligrapher Pietro Paolo Marone and the painters Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi. The Italian Ministry of Culture considers it one of the highest expressions of miniature art “which unites sacred value, historical relevance, precious materials and refined aesthetics.”
The Bible plate will remain behind glass during the Roman stay, but visitors can “read” it digitally via a touch screen display featuring ultra-high-resolution images.
Alessandra Nesi, director of the Gallerie Estense in Modena, where the Bible is usually kept, called it “the Mona Lisa of illuminated manuscripts” because of its outstanding artistry and religious inspiration.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who is in charge of the Vatican’s jubilee celebrations, said at the presentation Thursday that he hoped visitors would be inspired to go home and read their Bibles after seeing the beauty of the Borso d’Este edition.
He said that the grandeur of the text was a “stimulation” that compels one to contemplate not only its beauty but also the Word of God contained in the text.
According to the history of the Bible on the Italian Senate website, the Bible was commissioned by Duke Borso d’Este and was kept in the Este family until the last Duke, Francesco V of Austria-Este, took it with him when he fled Vienna in 1859.
It remained in Habsburg possession even after the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated after World War I. In 1922, after the death of Archduke Charles I, his widow Zita of Bourbon-Parma decided to sell it to a Parisian archaeologist.
Italian entrepreneur and art patron Giovanni Treccani learned of the sale and traveled to Paris to purchase it in 1923, paying 3,300,000 French francs. Traccani, whose name is famous today as a publisher of top Italian encyclopedias, then donated it to the Italian state.
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