Montevergine: immagini su pergamena

Abstract

The purpose of this study was the complete and detailed description of all the materials (parchments manuscripts, documents and fragments), dated between the 12th and the 13th centuries, through census and cataloging of the historical records preserved at the Biblioteca Nazionale at the Montevergine Abbey and at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. An important chapter in the history of the Abbey concerns the book decoration, a little studied subject, unlike the pictorial and sculptural productions. The global analysis (codicological, paleographical, textual and of the history of art), combined with the analysis of the archive materials and the indirect records, has allowed us to rebuild a corpus of the decorative codes linked to the Montevergine Abbey, as well as to propose new critical acquisitions. Searching for parchment images has led us to wonder about the presence of the scriptorium; a complex reality in the Virginian world that does not fully attest to the production of books. The analysis of illustrated documents known as ‘Statuto dell’abate Donato', a sure Virginian production, was of great interest and led to a new interpretation. [edited by author]