One of the most spectacular Renaissance illuminated manuscripts, a bible, on rare display in Rome

ROME (AP) — One of the most spectacular examples of Renaissance 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, known for its miniature paintings in gold and Afghan lapis lazuli, was unveiled Thursday in the Italian Senate, where it will remain on display until Jan. 16.

The bible is usually kept in a safe at a library in Modena and is rarely exhibited publicly. It was transported to Rome under heavy security and its arrival in the Senate was televised, as workers hauled two big red crates from an unmarked van and then extracted the volumes, which were covered in bubble wrap.

The bible was created between 1455 and 1461 by calligrapher Pietro Paolo Marone and illustrators Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi. The Italian Culture Ministry considers it one of the highest expressions of miniature art “that unites sacred value, historic relevance, precious materials and refined aesthetics.”

The bible will remain behind plate glass during its Roman sojourn, but visitors can “read” it digitally via touch screen displays featuring ultra-high-resolution images.

Alessandra Necci, director of Gallerie Estense in Modena where the bible is usually kept, called it the “Mona Lisa of illuminated manuscripts” because of its exquisite artistry and religious inspiration.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who is in charge of the Vatican’s Jubilee celebrations, told the presentation Thursday he hoped visitors would be inspired to go home and read their own bibles after seeing the beauty of the Borso D’Este version.

He said the splendor of the text was a “provocation” that forces contemplation not just of its beauty but of the word of God contained in the text.

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 to Vienna in 1859, according to a history of the bible on the Italian Senate’s website.

It remained in the possession of the Habsburgs even after the Austro-Hungarian Empire dissolved after World War I. In 1922, after Archduke Charles I died, his widow Zita of Bourbon-Parma decided to sell it to a Parisian antiquarian.

Italian entrepreneur and arts patron Giovanni Treccani learned of the sale and travelled to Paris to buy it in 1923, paying 3,300,000 French francs. Treccani, whose name is famous today as the publisher of top Italian encyclopaedias, then donated it to the Italian state.

__

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.