Dante Alighieri - Divina Commedia - Codice Urbinate Latino 365 - 1965

The Urbinate Dante of the Vatican Library (Latin Urbinate Codex 356). Facsimile reproduction of the codex. Rome, Vatican Apostolic Library, MCMLXV (1965). Printed in collaboration with Fratelli Fabbri editors on the occasion of the seventh centenary of the birth of the supreme poet. Numered edition of 1990 copies, our copy no. 756. Elegant full parchment binding with gold decorations. Protected by an editorial rigid cardboard case. Dimensions 41 cm x 25. The richly colored miniatures of the codex are reproduced in color. In excellent condition - signs of age on the case. Auction without reserve! Package weight 8.10 kg.
The “Dante Urbinate” is one of the most splendorous and famous manuscripts of the Divine Comedy, commissioned by Duke Federico da Montefeltro in the 15th century and now preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Library (as Urb. lat. 365), renowned for its splendid Renaissance miniatures, once incomplete and completed centuries later, which later became the subject of prestigious facsimile editions.
Origins and History
Patronage of Federico da Montefeltro: The work was commissioned by the Duke of Urbino, Federico da Montefeltro, a great patron of the Renaissance, who enriched his famous library with manuscripts of the highest quality.
Precious manuscript: Made on high-quality parchment, it is considered one of the richest copies of the Divine Comedy, thanks to its illuminated decorations.
Incompleteness and Completion: Started by a miniaturist (Giraldi) and continued by another, it remained unfinished at the Duke’s death in 1482; it was then completed in the 17th century by order of Francesco Maria II della Rovere, who also had it lavishly bound.
Arrival in the Vatican: The collection of the Dukes of Urbino, including this codex, became part of the Vatican Library in 1657.
Characteristics and Facsimile Editions
Codex Urb. lat. 365: It is identified with the catalog number Urb.lat.365.
Fine facsimiles: Its importance led to the creation of faithful facsimile reproductions, often commissioned by the Vatican Library itself in collaboration with publishing houses such as Franco Cosimo Panini and Treccani to celebrate Dante anniversaries, reproducing miniatures and binding in detail.
In summary, the Dante Urbinate is a work of art and culture, a treasure of the Vatican Library that testifies to the splendor of the Renaissance and the love for Dante.

Federico da Montefeltro, modern historiography defines as Federico III da Montefeltro (Gubbio, June 7, 1422 – Ferrara, September 10, 1482), was an Italian condottiero and duke, a mercenary captain and a famous Renaissance lord.

Count of Montefeltro, Urbino, and Castel Durante, he ruled over many other places, eventually attaining the rank of Duke of Urbino from 1474 until his death.[1] In 1437 he married Gentile Brancaleoni (1416-1457), daughter of the lord of Mercatello and Sant’Angelo in Vado Bartolomeo Brancaleoni; in his second marriage, in 1460, Battista Sforza (1446-1472), daughter of Alessandro Sforza lord of Pesaro. He used the enormous gains from his military campaigns to maintain a splendid court, but above all to build the Ducal Palace of Urbino and the Ducal Palace of Gubbio, to strengthen the state's defenses with the construction and renovation of keeps, and to assemble one of the most famous libraries of the time. For this he is remembered as one of the principal patrons of the Italian Renaissance. Close friend of Piero della Francesca, he was described as “the light of Italy,”[2] who painted the diptych of the Dukes of Urbino exhibited at the Uffizi Gallery; in this portrait Federico’s face takes the physical form of the territory itself and ultimately celebrates, symbolically, their mutual belonging.[3]

Biography
Federico da Montefeltro was born in Gubbio in 1422, the natural son of Guidantonio da Montefeltro and a maiden. He was later legitimized by a papal bull issued by Pope Martin V. However legends and fanciful hypotheses have populated his lineage over the centuries. According to some historians, he would have been the son of Elisabetta degli Accomanducci[4][5] of Monte Falcone of the counts of the castle of Petroia[6]. The most widely shared view today is that he was the son of Aura, who was also Guidantonio’s natural daughter, and her husband Bernardino Ubaldini, and that he was passed off as Guidantonio’s son. In any case, Federico publicly considered himself always the son of the latter.

Federico da Montefeltro transformed the Duchy of Urbino into a very important artistic and cultural center, second in Italy only to Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence.

Piero della Francesca, Brera Altarpiece, with Federico da Montefeltro kneeling on the right
Introd