Divine Comedy Paris – Imola

KEY FEATURES: AN ILLUMINATED MASTERPIECE FOR THE VISCONTI FAMILY

L’Inferno (ms. 76) is one of the most sumptuous medieval copies of the Divine Comedy. It was created for Filippo Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan, and is considered one of the finest works by the Master of the Vitae Imperatorum, one of the most prestigious illuminators in northern Italy in the first half of the fifteenth century.

What makes the Paris–Imola manuscript truly extraordinary is its impressive illustrative program: over 115 illuminated scenes, of which 72 survive today. On many pages, three or four miniatures can be admired per canto, an exceptional number when compared to most Dante manuscripts, in which illustrations are usually limited to a few ornate initials.

It cannot be ruled out that Guiniforte Barzizza, a refined humanist and advisor to the Visconti family, played a direct role in the conception of this rich iconographic apparatus.

The division and recomposition of the code

The manuscript is currently kept in two locations:

• Paris (France), Bibliothèque Nationale de France – ms. Italien 2017, with 59 miniatures;
• Imola (Italy), Municipal Library – ms. 76, with 21 leaves and 13 miniatures.

This separation makes the facsimile reproduction even more valuable, giving the public the opportunity to admire the manuscript in its entirety, just as it was conceived in the fifteenth century.

TECHNICAL DATA

• Places of conservation: Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Paris) – Imola Municipal Library
• Segnature: MS Italien 2017 | MS 76
• Date: 1440
• Dimensions: pages 21.5 × 32 cm; manuscript 24 × 34 cm; maximum height 10 cm
• Weight: approximately 5,200 g
• Binding: leather
• Number of pages: 790
• Pages with thumbnails and initials: 156
• Pages decorated in gold: 140
• Number of copies produced: 1,000 (200 for exclusive sale)
• Publisher: Imago, Rimini
• Condition: new
• Every technical detail conveys a tangible value: the quality of the leather binding, the generous dimensions of the format, the gold pages that reflect the light. Everything contributes to recreating the feel of an authentic manuscript, not just a simple copy.
• Warranty: 24 months

WHAT YOU ARE PURCHASING

• Exact three-dimensional facsimile reproduction of the manuscript “Divine Comedy PARIS-IMOLA”
• Critical commentary
• Luxury box made of eco-sustainable cardboard or, optionally, plexiglass display case
• Certificate of the olive tree donated to Salento
• Certificate of authenticity, “colophon.” It contains the following information: title of the work, owner, print run, number of the work, date, followed by the stamp and signature of the owner (usually a public library), stamp and signature of the publisher, stamp and signature of a Notary Public of the Italian Republic.
• Exclusive access to the Antiquus reserved area with in-depth digital content.

It’s not just a purchase: it’s reuniting a work as it was created.

STRUCTURE OF THE WORK

The first canto, Inferno, is divided into 34 cantos written in tercets (ABA BCB CDC…). Dante describes an imaginary journey into the afterlife, which began on Good Friday in 1300, guided by Virgil through Hell and Purgatory and by Beatrice in Paradise.

The journey has a strong symbolic value: the initial “dark forest” represents spiritual loss, while the journey is a metaphor for the soul’s path to salvation.

In Inferno, Dante and Virgil descend through the nine circles, encountering sinners punished for their crimes: from lust to betrayal, from violence to fraud. At the center of the abyss, frozen in ice, Lucifer appears. The journey ends with the exit “to see the stars again.”

An extraordinary collecting story

The history of the Paris–Imola manuscript is as fascinating as it is complex, a true journey through five centuries of European history.
Originally, the codex was kept in the famous Visconti-Sforza library in Pavia, one of the richest cultural centers of the fifteenth century, where it was still present in 1469. With the French invasion of Italy at the end of the century, the precious volume passed into the hands of Louis XII of France.

The French sovereign probably gave it to Giovanni Caracciolo, Duke of Melfi, in recognition of his services to the crown. From there, the manuscript passed to his son-in-law, Antoine de Cardaillac, and then to his heirs, remaining in private collections for centuries.

In 1835, after almost four hundred years of silence, the code reappeared in a castle in the Dordogne, where it was purchased by the scholar Gaston de Flotte, who transferred it to Marseille. Between 1836 and 1837, de Flotte established contact with Giuseppe Zaccheroni from Imola, a political exile in France after the uprisings of 1831.

Zaccheroni immediately understood the value of the manuscript and edited the first critical edition of Inferno, published in 1838. Upon his return to Italy, he distinguished himself in political life and in 1865 was elected deputy in the college of Imola. The following year, he donated a copy of his edition to the Municipal Library of his city, enriched with some original pages from the codex he owned.

The remainder of the manuscript, which remained in the possession of de Flotte’s heirs, was finally sold in 1887 to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, where it is still preserved today.

Thus, the manuscript, originally bound together and sumptuously illuminated for the Visconti family, is now divided between two cities and two countries, but has been ideally recomposed thanks to the Paris–Imola facsimile, which restores its original integrity.

CONCLUSIONS

There are books that tell a story.
And there are books that are history.

The Divina Commedia Parigi–Imola manuscript belongs to this second category: a work that has passed through ducal courts, kingdoms, and revolutions, reaching us today as an intact testimony to beauty, faith, and knowledge.

Ogni sua pagina, arricchita da miniature dorate e da immagini che parlano ancora oggi con la forza del simbolo, è un ponte tra Medioevo e contemporaneità.

Each sheet is an invitation to cross the threshold of art, poetry, and spirituality.
The facsimile reunites what history had separated, restoring to the world the original integrity of a timeless masterpiece. It’s not just about owning a book: it’s about welcoming into your life an object of art and light, a symbol of wisdom that conveys prestige, harmony, and immortality.

Choosing the Divine Comedy Paris-Imola is much more than a purchase:

It is a gesture that unites collecting and passion, art and memory, it is the privilege of preserving a fragment of eternity and finally reuniting the work in its original completeness.

YOUR SEAL

To make your specimen unique, choose:

1. The number that best represents you
2. The storage method: eco-friendly luxury cardboard box or one of our plexiglass display cases, to display the manuscript as a collector’s item

Your manuscript, your number, your display case: a unique legacy for you and for those who come after you.