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Usually kept in a safe at a library in Modena and rarely on public display, a 15th-century Bible, considered one of the finest Renaissance illuminated manuscripts, is on display at the Italian Senate in Rome, Italy, till January 16.
Commissioned by Duke Borso D’Este, the first Duke of Ferrara and Modena, ruling from 1450 until his death in 1471, the Bible was created by Pietro Paolo Marone and illustrators Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi. “It was an unprecedented undertaking from an economic and organisational perspective, which is documented in the court’s accounting records. Almost 90 per cent of the total expenditure was allocated to illuminated illustration,” states a note on the website of the Italian Senate.
It reportedly remained with the Este family in Italy till Francesco V of Austria-Este, the last duke, took it with him when he fled to Vienna in 1859. It continued to be with the Habsburg dynasty till the 1920s, when it was sold to a Parisian antiquarian, from whom it was bought by Italian entrepreneur and arts patron Giovanni Treccani, who later donated it to the Italian state.
The note on the artwork adds,”The extraordinary nature of the work is evident above all in its exceptional artistic quality: a masterpiece that combines sacred value, historical significance, material prestige, and aesthetic refinement. The miniatures reveal a strong comparison with the art of masters like Pisanello, Donatello, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca, and especially the influence of the major Ferrarese painters, including Cosmè Tura, Michele Pannonio and Francesco del Cossa.”
The manuscript was transported from Modena to Rome under heavy security and its arrival was televised. On display behind plate glass at the Italian Senate, visitors can read the Bible digitally on touch screens that also feature ultra-high-resolution images.
The exhibit is on display till January 16, 2026 at the Library of the Senate of the Republic ‘Giovanni Spadolini’.
