Aldo Manuzio and the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by Francesco Colonna/1499

This little but accurate exposition is dedicated to one of the most fascinating printed books of Renaissance; it was published in Venice in 1499 in the Aldo Manuzio’s workshop, whom quincentenaries’ of death is falling this year.

Considered as the most beautiful book of the Renaissance, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (which means “The love fights in dream of Polifilo) is considered as an artwork and as one of the apexes of the modern publishing industry, perfectly bonding text, images and graphic, thanks to the elegant xylographies and the extreme cure of the project.

The original edition, heart of the exhibition, is assisted by a multimedia emplacement that allows to virtually leaf through the pages and to go in depth on some technical aspects of the book. In addition, there are didactical supports analysing the cultural context in which both Aldo Manuzio and Francesco Colonna lived and worked, and various topics from the volume and some images.

The exhibition is the well-chosen result of a convention between the Castelvecchio Museum, University of Verona and, particularly, the Rossana Bossaglia’s Research Centre of Department Culture and Civilization. This project will be given in custody of PhD art history students, that will curate and set-up an exhibition dedicated to famous artists’ books. The exposition series had been thought for a wide audience of young, students and citizens, that will come inside the world of the art book with a series of didactic equipment (some guided visits and meeting at schools and cultural sites are expected), whereas the young curators will have the chance to acquire essential knowledge for their future professions.

The results of the researches and the texts of the exhibition are consultable in the archive “Graphic and illustration”.

Curated by Maddalena Oldrizzi and Andrea Polati.

Verona, Museo di Castelvecchio, 31st October 2015 – 31st January 2016