Rome reborn : the Vatican Library and Renaissance culture
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Rome reborn : the Vatican Library and Renaissance culture
Library of Congress , Yale University Press , In association with the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, c1993
Available at 25 libraries
Note
Catalog of an exhibition to be held at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., Jan. 6-Apr. 30, 1993
Bibliography: p. 305-312
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The Vatican Library contains the richest collection of western manuscripts and early printed books in the world, and its holdings have both reflected and helped to shape the intellectual development of Europe. One of the central institutions of Italian Renaissance culture, it has served since its origin in the mid-15th century as a centre of research for topics as diverse as the early history of the city of Rome and the structure of the universe. This book, which contains over 200 colour illustrations, introduces the reader to the Vatican Library and examines in particular its development during the Renaissance. Distinguished scholars discuss the Library's holdings and the historical circumstances of its growth, presenting a fascinating cast of characters - popes, artists, collectors, scholars, and scientists - who influenced how the Library evolved. The authors examine subjects ranging from Renaissance humanism to Church relations with China and the Islamic world to the status of medicine and the life sciences in antiquity and during the Renaissance.
Their essays are supported by maps, books, prints and other examples of the Library's collection, including the Palatine Virgil (a fifth-century manuscript), a letter from King Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn, and an autographed poem by Petrarch. The book serves as the catalogue for a major exhibition at the Library of Congress in Washington that presents a selection of the Vatican Library's magnificent treasures. The exhibition opens in January and the exhibits return to the Vatican at the end of April.
Table of Contents
Preface Foreword Acknowledgements Contributors Abbreviations The Vatican and Its Library The Popes and Humanism The Ancient City Restored: Archaeology, Ecclesiastical History, and Egyptology The Recovery of the Exact Sciences of Antiquity: Mathematics, Astronomy, Geography Life Sciences and Medicine in the Renaissance World Music and the Renaissance Papacy: the Papal Choir and the Fondo Cappella Sistina Eastern Churches and Western Scholarship Paper Obelisks: East Asia in the Vatican Vaults Chinese, Korean and Japanese Tertns and Naines Notes Suggestions Manuscripts and Printed Books from the Vatican Library listed by Fondi Index.
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