The Italian Book: From Manuscript to Print

This course aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the transformation of books in Italy from Late Antiquity to the Enlightenment. It will trace the transition from the peak of manuscript production to the establishment of books printed through a hand press as the chief means of communication, assessing the impact this epochal shift had on different genres, from the classics to scientific and popular literature. 

After a preliminary insight into key historical notions (‘From Antiquity to Middle Ages’, ‘Humanism’, ‘Renaissance’, ‘Enlightenment’), the first six seminars will focus on the materials, physical structure and formats of manuscripts, the developments of their formal and cursive scripts both for Latin texts and Italian vernacular literature, and the history of their illustration and decoration by anonymous craftsmen or famous artists. The second half of the course will tackle the early days of Italian printing up to Aldus Manutius, the rise of vernacular publications and institutional censorship, as well as the evolution of the Italian book from the Baroque into Bodoni’s Neoclassicism. 

To encourage student involvement, classes will comprise ample illustration of digital facsimiles of manuscripts from international libraries, including the Vatican Library, Laurenziana Library in Florence, the British Library, and the National Library of France; guided exploration of the main online repertoires; and displays of manuscripts and printed editions from the remarkable collections of Senate House Library, the Wellcome Library, and the final private viewing of the magnificent collections of manuscripts and printed editions of the British Library.