The books of Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici
personal manuscripts and volumes for Michelangelo’s library

To celebrate the 500 years from the birth of Cosimo I de’ Medici, the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana shows the grand duke’s collection of books, that were partly owned in his private library and partly gathered by him in order to enlarge the collection of the Public Library planned by Michelangelo. Among the manuscripts, all preserved in Biblioteca Laurenziana, are the Vite of the grand duke, texts of polyphonic music as well as scientific works, translations of ancient texts and a Geographia by Ptolemy from which have been extracted the maps created by Egnazio Danti and now posted upon the wardrobes’ shutters in the Sala della Guardaroba inside Palazzo Vecchio.

Lots of the volumes shown in the second section of the exhibit come from the Biblioteca della basilica di San Lorenzo. By Cosimo’s will, other volumes were moved from the Biblioteca di San Marco, from San Gimignano and from the Biblioteca della Badia di San Salvatore a Settimo. All the exhibition catalogue is splendidly illustrated. Furthermore, to go with each manuscript shown is a detailed data sheet.

Digital version available on

ita > http://digital.casalini.it/9788874614615
eng > http://digital.casalini.it/9788874614622