Ornatissimo codice: the Dukes of Urbino Library

350 years after the relocation of the Dukes of Urbino Library to the Vatican Apostolic Library, the Soprintendenza per il Patrimonio Storico Artistico ed Etnoantropologico of Le Marche, promotes the first return of 15 volumes belonging to the library of Federico da Montefeltro to its original location. The whole collection was moved to Rome’s Vatican Library in 1657 after the Pope Urban VIII definitively incorporated the Duchy into the papal dominions.

The dukes of Urbino library of 900 manuscript volumes, by the leading scribes and illuminators of Florence, Ferrara, Mantua and Padua, was assembled in 1464-82. The collection, that will be exhibited in the original library in the Ducal Palace and in two large adjacent halls, allows the visitor to plunge into the unique context created by the Duke in Urbino in the second half of the 15th Century, the first Renaissance Court. The exhibit is a faithful reconstruction of the original library and it displays what has been considered as the most wonderful collection of 15th century manuscripts. The exhibit will open on March 15th and end on July 27th 2008. After writing this, on March 22nd I visited the exhibit, see photos here