Codex Purpureus Rossanensis: birth of a facsimile

A year-long new challenge for Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, that of creating the facsimile version of the Codex Purpureus Rossanensis.

The facsimile has been an unprecedented project for the publishing house, starting from the choice of the paper to be used and the very development of the optimal printing process and techniques - as unprecedented is its extremely limited run: only 5 copies were made for the museum in which the Codex is located (the Museum Diocesano e del Codex in Rossano). Two of these copies will be gifted respectively to Pope Francis and to the Italian President Sergio Mattarella, while the other three will be used in expositions and for scientific research. For the first time, the medium of choice was parchment structured paper - a choice that both added to the tactile experience of the reproduction and guaranteed the maximum color accuracy we pride ourselves of. New and cutting-edge techniques have been studied and created in order to preserve the features of the original manuscript; the limited number of copies determined the choice of digital printing, which nonetheless led to excellent final results. The reddish-purple parchment was also accurately reproduced in each and every nuance, just as the gold and silver inks in the facsimile preserved all of their original qualities. The use of high-tech procedures was, at the same time, backed by the strong craftsmanship that lays behind all of our editions: the Italian artisans from the Bottega dei Gozzi faithfully recreated the preservative binding given to the Codex during the restoration it underwent over the last few years.

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