Biblioteca Estense

Codex De Sphaera - 1469 Allegory of Este and Sforza (the snake) families Coat of Arms

The Biblioteca Estense (Estense Library), was the family library of the dukes of Este. Dating at least to 14th century, it was largely enriched during Ferrara's Renaissance, and finally established in Modena in the beginning of 17th century. It is one of the most important libraries in Italy. The library is located in the Palazzo del Musei, Largo Sant'Agostino 337.

Collection

Today the Library's collection contains more than 500 000 printed works, about 11 000 codexes, more than 100 000 manuscript leaves, and 1 662 incunabula. Among the manuscripts, the most famous is the 1 200-page Bible of Borso d'Este, utterly bordered with miniatures.

The library holds many medieval manuscripts, among them biblical manuscripts: Codex Mutinensis, Minuscule 358, 359, 585, 586, 618, ℓ 111.

Also known worldwide is its collection of musical manuscripts and printed books, the Raccolta musicale estense.

Some manuscripts

Page from Biblia Borsi Estensis

• Biblia Borsi Estensis
• Codex Mutinensis
• Codex de sphaera
• Mutinensis Gr. 122
• Minuscule 585
• Minuscule 586
• Minuscule 358
• Minuscule 359
• Minuscule 618
• Lectionary 111

See also

• House of Este

Further reading

• Giulio Bertoni, La Biblioteca Estense, Torino 1903
• Archivi di biblioteche: per la storia delle biblioteche pubbliche statali, Roma: Ed. di storia e letteratura, 2002

External links

• Biblioteca Estense official website. Mid-resolution PDF's of some manuscripts and printed books can be downloaded for free from the Immagini (Images) section
• Direttori della Biblioteca Estense di Modena, with links to biographical sources
• Biblioteca Estense images
• Biblioteca Estense: sei secoli di storia at the mediateca2000