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Codex Vaticanus, B
Unknown, Old and New Testament Greek ('Codex Vaticanus', B)
This celebrated manuscript of the Bible, contains the entire text of the Old and New Testament, and has been preserved in the Vatican Library since the 15th century. The manuscript is not complete; some sections were reconstructed in the 15th century (Gn 1,1-46,28; Sal 106,27-138,6 [= 105,27-137,6]; part of the Letter to the Hebrews and Revelations: the text is in fact interrupted at p. 1518 at Hebrews 9, 14). Originally the manuscript was without ornamentation. Simple head bands and initial letters were added later, probably during the 10th century, at the beginning of the individual books of the Bible.

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Arba'ah Turim
Asher, Jacob Ben , Arba'ah Turim
The manuscript, a Jewish juridic text, is divided into four main sections containing prescriptions for prayer, butchering and eating, family life and the administration of justice. The colophon tells us that the manuscript was written in Mantua in 1435. The style of the decorationessentially confirms this. The first page of each of the four books presents a precious miniature depicting the themes of the book itself, enriched by a floral border. The image displayed is f.220r, the first page of the third book, dedicated to marriage and to the laws governing family life. The miniature represents a nuptial scene.

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Vergilius Romanus
Virgil, Bucolis, Georgies, Aeneis
The manuscript, known as the 'Vergilius Romanus', contains Virgil's 'Bucolis', 'Georgies' and 'Aeneis'. From its style and graphic character it can be dated to the end of 5th century A.D. It is one of the most ancient and most important manuscript of Virgil's texts. Square in format, it is written in rustic capital script with 18 lines per page. The manuscript contains 19 miniatures displayed at the beginning of each of the “books” into which the three works are subdivised. This image displayed is f. 76v "The sacrifice in honor of Anchises" (Aeneis V, 42ss).

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The Obelisk of the Minerva
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo , Study drawing for the Obelisk of the Minerva (c. 1665-1667)
The drawing is one of several sketches done by Bernini for the project of the Obelisk of the square of the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The commission was given him by Pope Alexander VII just after the return of Bernini from France in 1665. The work was begun in 1667.

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Lex Neacademia (Greek)
Forteguerra, Scipio (carteromachus) , Lex Neacademia (Greek)
Scipione Forteguerri da Pistoia (1466-1515) was a member and the first Secretary of the Aldine Academy. He was the teacher of Pope Clement VII [Giulio de' Medici (1478-1534; Pope from 1523)]. The Aldine New Academy was an ambition never realized fully and about which we know little. After 1502 we find the phrase "ex neacademia nostra" in the colophon of many Aldine volumes. This unique piece of evidence was found as a pastedown inside the upper cover of a volume containing two other Venice non-Aldine imprints: ETYMOLOGICUM MAGNUM GRAECUM [Greek] (Ed: Marcus Musurus). Venice: Zacharias Callierges, for Nicolaus Blastus and Anna Notaras, 8 July 1499 and GALENUS, CLAUDIUS (Therapeutica) [Greek]. Venice: [Zacharias Callierges, for] Nicolaus Blastus, 5 Oct. 1500. It gives some insight into the organization of the academy.

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Henry VIII of England's defense of the seven sacraments
King Henry VIII of England, Assertio septem sacramentorum aduersus Martin. Luther-.,aedita ab inuictissimo Angliae et Franciae r
The book is printed on parchment and presents the signature of King Henry on the illuminated title-page and on the last page. Pope Leo X (Giovanni de' Medici ,1475-1521); Pope from 1513) was so impressed with this defense of the seven sacraments against the teachings of Martin Luther, that he conferred on Henry and his successors the title "Defender of the Faith".

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10 fiorini di Camera
Unknown, 10 fiorini di Camera
D/ PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS SIX-TVS IIII PONT MAX AN IOBILEI R/ DOMINE ADIVVA NOS MODICE FIDEI QVARE DVBITA-STI The gold coin known as the “10 fiorini di Camera” (Zecca of Rome) issued on the occasion of the Jubilee of Pope Sistus IV in 1475, is belived to exhist in only three copies. One copy is lost, the other one is in Florence. The third, in the Cabinet of Coins and Medals of the Vatican Library, is the only one in perfect conditions. The recto of the coin represents Christ with sheep and St. Peter. Below the image is the coat of arms of the Pope. On the back the Apostles on a ship. On the right we see Christ who saves St. Peter.

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The Chart of Hell
Botticelli, Sandro , The Chart of Hell
This celebrated image is one of the seven drawings that the Vatican Library possesses of Dante Alighieri's 'Divine Comedy' illustrated by Sandro Botticelli, one of the most sophisticated painters and draughtsmen of Renaissance Florence. Botticelli's drawings hold an outstanding place in the history of 'Divine Comedy' illustrations; the artist depicted the topography of the three realms Hell, Purgatory and Paradise, each in a distinctive way.

Shown here in the Chart of Hell is a cross-section through the Underworld containing a multitude of figures. Viewers can trace Virgil's and Dante's passage down through the nine circles of Hell. The drawings, created between 1480-1495, were commissioned to the artist by Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, a cousin of the more famous Lorenzo il Magnifico. They became part of the Vatican Library collections in the 17th century. A large number of them are now in the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin.

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Old and New Testament ('Urbinate Bible')
De Comminellis De Mazieres, Hugues (scribe) , Old and New Testament ('Urbinate Bible')
This splendid manuscript, without a doubt a Florentine miniature masterpiece of the Renaissance, was commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, at the atelier of Vespasiano da Bisticci, the renowned Florentine bookseller who was the primary provider of manuscripts for the Urbino library. The Bible is divided into two books. Hugo de Cominellis or Hugues de Comminellis de Mazieres, who was also responsible for other books commissioned by Federico da Montefeltro, has been identified as the scribe of these volumes. The copy is a transcription of the canonic text of the Vulgate.

The volumes are particularly important for the richness of their illustrations. Scholars have identified the hands of a number of different artists who cooperated in decorating these volumes, among them, panel painters, fresco painters and miniature painters. The Urbino Bible is one of the rare examples of such artistic collaboration in Florence at the end of 15th century. The artists involved in these splendid decorations include Attavante, the Master of the Hamilton Xenophon, Francesco Rosselli, the brother of the most famous Cosimo, Francesco d'Antonio del Chierico, to whom we owe the greatest number of the illustrations, Biagio d'Antonio, Bartolomeo di Giovanni and David and Domenico Ghirlandaio.

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View of St. Peter's Square
Piranesi, Giovanni Battista , View of St. Peter's Square (c. 1745-48)
Inscriptions: Veduta della Basilica, e Piazza di S. Pietro in Vaticano - 1. Palazzo Pontificio fabbricato da Sisto V. 2. Loggia di Giulio II architettura di Bramante Lazzari, e dipinto da Raffaello d'Urbino. 3. Guglia eretta da Sisto V. 4. Vasca tutta di un pezzo di granito Orientale. Left: Piranesi del. scol - Presso l'autore a Strada felice nel Palazzo Tomati vicino alla Trinità dei monti. One of the first views of the great master Giovanni Battista Piranesi, this etching is part of the series "Le vedute di Roma". The series was published at different times thoughout the life of the engraver from the time he moved to Rome to his last days. Dated between 1745-1748, the print is done in the “Venetian” light style of the artist, and presents the famous square full of people and carriages.

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Jörg Bernhard's binding
Jörg, Bernhard , Ordonnances, loix, statutz, & edictz royaulx, de tous les roys de France, depuys le regne sainct
This 1550 binding was made by Jörg Bernhard and is one of the many ostentatious bindings which the Elector Ottheinrich (1502-1559) liked so much. The volume was part of his broad legal collection. It was Ottheinrich who officially introduced the Reformation into Heidelberg in 1556. This volume like many of the Barberini volumes originally had been part of the Palatina library from Heidelberg which was given to Gregory XV (Alessandro Ludovisi, 1515-1623; Pope from 1621). Gregory died in July 1623 and by the time the books arrived in Rome in August of that year, a Barberini (Urban VIII, Maffeo Barberini, 1568-1644; Pope from 1623) was Pope; soon he gave many of the newly acquired volumes to his bibliophile nephew and cardinal, Francesco. Maffeo, as Pope, favored his nephew's collection over that of the Vatican for the deposit of books he received as presents, perhaps because the original core of that collection had been his own personal library. The volumes again became part of the Vatican collections in 1902 when Leo XIII (Gioacchino Pecci, 1810-1903; Pope from 1878) purchased the Barberini Library.

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Exhibition Space
The European Library Exhibition

Discover the exhibitions held in the great national libraries of Europe through a single access point. Still on display: Napoleonic wars, unique buildings and magnificent treasures.