Manuscripts and Early Printed Documents from the Palatine Library
Ildefonso Toletano, De virginitate Sanctae Mariae, Ms. Parm. 1650 Fine XI sec./ inizio XII and Caius Plinius Secundus, Naturalis Historia, Inc. Parm. 1158
De virginitate Sanctae Mariae (1075/1125) by Ildefonso ToletanoPalazzo della Pilotta
Universally known as Parma Ildefonsus, the codex is a copy of the treatise "De Virginitate Sanctae Mariae" written by S. Ildefonso who lived in Spain in the seventh century.
Made in the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny between 1090 and 1100, the Parma codex was copied from a Spanish transcript probably addressed to Bernardo de Sauvetat, monk of Cluny and related to the reconquer of the Iberian Peninsula.
De virginitate Sanctae Mariae (1075/1125) by Ildefonso ToletanoPalazzo della Pilotta
The illustrative system is of exceptional complexity: all 222 pages are decorated with frames in gold, silver and purple, that enclose both texts and magnificent full-page miniatures.
The facsimile was published in 499 numbered copies thanks to the the authorization granted by the Palatine Library of Parma.
Naturalis historia, 1426-1430 (1426/1430) by Caius Plinius SecundusPalazzo della Pilotta
This is the last of the three editions printed in Parma in the age of the incunabula. The volume, part of the Palatine Library precious collection, was acquired under the direction of Paolo Maria, as evidenced by his introduction in Latin, where he provides some information on previous editions, describes the characteristics of the work and the images accompanying the text.
The incunabulum, restored by the Praglia Restoration Department in 1962, today has a modern binding with the recovery that preserve part of the 18th century blanket in spotted brown Moroccan.
Naturalis historia, 1426-1430 (1481) by Caius Plinius SecundusPalazzo della Pilotta
In this edition, as in the previous one printed by Portilia, there are present letters from Pliny the Younger, Suetonius, Eusebius of Caesarea and Tertullian, which pay homage to the Latin writer of the first century AD.
Naturalis historia, 1426-1430 (1481) by Caius Plinius SecundusPalazzo della Pilotta
The Parma incunabulum is accompanied by miniatures attributed to the painter and miniaturist Francesco Marmitta (1457-1505), who depicted animals and fruits described in the volume.
The project, completed in 2010, also included the restoration of the codex, carried out by the Crisostomi studio in Rome, its digitization and the drafting of a study commentary which includes essays by Andrea De Pasquale, Palatine Library former director, Silvana Gorreri, in those years in charge of the Restoration and Protection Office of the Palatine Library of Parma, Neil Stratford, art historian, Giusi Zanichelli, professor of Art History at Salerno University and Danilo Bersani, researcher at Parma University.
