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= 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 Italy. A town, and seat o ...

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 ...

. 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 Bor ...

and

Girolamo Tiraboschi Girolamo Tiraboschi S.J. (; 18 December 1731 – 9 June 1794) was an Italian literary critic, the first historian of Italian literature. Biography Born in Bergamo, he studied at the Jesuit college in Monza, entered the order, and was appointed i ...

. After the

Unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century political and social movement that resulted in the consolidation of different states of the Italian Peninsula into a single ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. 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, 586,

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 er ...

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

Some manuscripts

* Biblia Borsi Estensis * Codex Mutinensis * Codex de sphaera * Mutinensis gr. 122 *

Minuscule 585 Minuscule 585 (in the numbering Gregory-Aland) ε 125 (von Soden) is an illuminated Byzantine Gospel Book. It is dated paleographically to the late 10th century.Minuscule 586 Minuscule 586 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 417 ( von Soden), is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 14th century.K. Aland, M. Welte, B. Köster, K. Junack, "Ku ...

* Minuscule 358 * Minuscule 359 * Minuscule 618 * Lectionary 111

References

Related entries

* Gallerie Estensi *

Borso d'Este Borso d'Este, attributed to Vicino da Ferrara, Pinacoteca of the Castello Sforzesco">Sforza Castle in Milan, Italy. Borso d'Este (1413 – August 20, 1471) was Duke of Ferrara, and the first Duchy of Modena and Reggio, Duke of Modena, which he rul ...

House of Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

External links