[Illuminated Manuscript] - Storia d’Italia Manoscritto unico - 1886

One-of-a-kind manuscript of the history of Italy, hand-illuminated – Ada Bernini, Padua 1886

Rare and fascinating handwritten album titled Frames of the History of Italy, produced in 1886 by Ada Bernini, a pupil in the fourth lower class of the Collegio del Sacro Cuore in Padua.

Format about 22 × 27 cm, original red cardstock binding with gold frames and geometric motifs and the title in gold on the front cover. The interiors are entirely handwritten and drawn by hand on rag paper, with 29 “frames” (full-page plates) dedicated to the centuries of Italian history, from the I century of the Vulgar Era to the XIX century (up to 1900).

Each frame is centered on a golden heraldic shield with the title of the century and a motto or historical summary, surrounded by elegant ribbons and colorful banners (in red, blue, purple, green and black inks) on which, in beautiful cursive handwriting, events, figures, dates and salient facts are recorded.

At the center of the title page appears a stylized map of Italy within a golden shield, with the inscriptions “Cenni Storici d’Italia – Il Bel Paese – registrati per Secolo.” The pages are still protected by the original tracing sheets.

It is an exceptional example of a late 19th-century school exercise, carried out with great calligraphic care and decorative taste, almost like a medieval codex.

Of great rarity on the antique market: a unique manuscript, signed and dated, originating from a prestigious Catholic college in Padua, documenting both the teaching of history and the art of drawing and ornamental writing of the era.

Overall good condition, with normal signs of aging (humidity stains, wear to the binding and papers), but fully legible and of strong visual impact.