The Biblioteca Estense ('' Estense Library''), was the family library of the marquis and dukes of Este. The exact date of the library's birth is still under speculation, however it is known for certain that the library was in use during the fourteenth century. Whilst it was greatly enriched during the Renaissance years in Ferrara, the library was concretely established in

Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...

in the beginning of the seventeenth century. It is known as one of the most important libraries in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The library is located, along with the

Galleria Estense The Galleria Estense is an art gallery in the heart of Modena, centred around the collection of the d’Este family: rulers of Modena, Ferrara and Reggio from 1289 to 1796. Located on the top floor of the ''Palazzo dei Musei'', on the St. Augusti ...

directly below its collection of artworks, in the Palazzo dei Musei (Piazza Sant'Agostino 337) in Modena.

History

On the ascension of the Marquis Niccolò III d'Este to the Ferrarese duchy in 1393, he inherited an important humanistic library, rich in works of literary, historical and artistic content. Its collection grew considerably during the Renaissance period with manuscripts and printed editions considered today to be of fundamental value, thanks to the refined and attentive patronage of the Dukes of Este. In 1598, the Library followed the dynasty when the capital was transferred from

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

. In the following centuries, the Estense Library continued to be enriched with local and international works, funded by the acquisitions of suppressed religious institutions as well as enriched by the elevated tastes of famous librarians

Ludovico Antonio Muratori Lodovico Antonio Muratori (21 October 1672 – 23 January 1750) was an Italian historian, notable as a leading scholar of his age, and for his discovery of the Muratorian fragment, the earliest known list of New Testament books. Biography Born ...

and Girolamo Tiraboschi. After the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

, the Estense Library merged with the University Library, which brought with it an important collection of philosophical, juridical and scientific texts. Thus was born the Estense University Library, considered today as a modern institute of national interest.

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 In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...

. Among the manuscripts, the most famous is the 1,200-page '' Bible of Borso d'Este'', extensively bordered with miniatures. The relic would be recovered and returned to Modena following the

first World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Bought at an auction, it was gifted to Italy on behalf of Senator Giovanni Treccani. The Bible is today excluded from public view for reasons of conservation, a 1963 replica now takes its place in the Biblioteca Estense. The library holds many medieval manuscripts, among them biblical manuscripts: Codex Mutinensis, Minuscule 358,

359 __NOTOC__ Year 359 ( CCCLIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Eusebius and Hypatius (or, less frequently, year 1112 ' ...

585 __NOTOC__ Year 585 ( DLXXXV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 585 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

586 __NOTOC__ Year 586 ( DLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 586 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar ...

618 __NOTOC__ Year 618 ( DCXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 618 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

, ℓ ''111''. Also known worldwide is its collection of musical manuscripts and printed books, the ''Raccolta musicale estense''.

Some manuscripts

Biblia Borsi Estensis The Bible of Borso d'Este is a two volume manuscript. The illuminated miniatures, work of Taddeo Crivelli and others, were executed between 1455 and 1461. The work is held in the Biblioteca Estense di Modena (Ms. Lat. 422-423.) History The B ...

* Codex Mutinensis *

Codex de sphaera The codex (plural codices ) was the historical ancestor of the modern book. Instead of being composed of sheets of paper, it used sheets of vellum, papyrus, or other materials. The term ''codex'' is often used for ancient manuscript books, with ...

Mutinensis gr. 122 ''Codex Mutinensis graecus 122'' is a 15th-century codex written in Greek, today stored in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. The designation ''Mutinensis gr. 122'' is modern and the codex itself bears the title ''Epitome of Histories'' ...

* Minuscule 585 * Minuscule 586 * Minuscule 358 *

Minuscule 359 Minuscule 359 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 317 ( Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on paper. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century. It has marginalia. It was known as ''Codex Mutinensis ...

* Minuscule 618 *

Lectionary 111 Lectionary 111, designated by siglum ℓ ''111'' (in the Gregory-Aland numbering) is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 9th-century. Description The codex contains less ...

References

Related entries

Gallerie Estensi The Gallerie Estensi is a network of three museums and a library, bringing together the collective fruits of artistic production from Ferrara, Modena and Sassuolo in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. The galleries aim to preserve the hist ...

* Borso d'Este *

* House of Este

External links