The long journey through the Divine Comedy is about to reach its final stage, as the climb towards Paradise begins. We have arrived at the seventh Terrace, where souls are sent for the sin of…

Binding that changed over the centuries  When Federico died in 1482, the Codex, still incomplete, was not yet bound together and it remained that way until Francesco Maria II della Rovere had the first binding done, in yellow…

As the three poets continue their journey through Purgatory, they reach the sixth Terrace, where souls are punished for the sin of Gluttony. Statius, Virgil, and Dante look upon the Tree of Temperance, whose lower…

Virgil and Dante are walking along the foot of the mountain, to avoid stepping on the penitent souls of the greedy and other sinners, who lie along the path. Both of them turn their heads…

Illuminated initial "G" from Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia, Ms. Urb. lat. 365, f. 72v, 1478-1482, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.

After following a narrow path, Dante and Virgil reach the first terrace overlooking Purgatory, where they find those who are punished for the sin of Pride. We meet them on the steep and inaccessible cliff…

We have finally reached the gate of Purgatory. On the left, half-hidden by the rocky shore, we can barely see Saint Lucia who carries Dante’s sleeping body, followed by Virgil, from the Valley of the…

One of the key episodes of Dante's Purgatory is the encounter with Sordello, which is depicted in three separate vignettes. Dante and Virgil are still in the lower slopes of Purgatory, or Ante-Purgatory, at the…

Having reached the shore of Purgatory, Dante and Virgil see the arrival of the angel boatman who appears luminous on his ship in the sea. Here they meet the spirit of Casella, a friend of…

By now we have seen ample evidence that the Dante Urbinate is one of the world’s priceless masterpieces, but what is its provenance, the history of its ownership? As with its production history, even its…