Venice is considered the capital of ancient books: already from the 15th century, when the invention of printing dates back to the Serenissima, well over half of the volumes written in Europe were published in the Serenissima.
And the ancient books, in the rarest editions, will somehow return 'home' on the occasion of the market exhibition to be held at Palazzo Pisani-Revedin, on the initiative of Alai (the Association of Antiquarian Booksellers of Italy).
From 23 to 25 February the palace in front of Campo Man will become the wunderkammer of enthusiasts of the sector, who will be able to review the most valuable editions produced over the centuries by artisans, copyists and illuminators, who worked especially in the scriptoria of the convents, or who came into direct contact with public and private clients.
Antiquarian Booksellers in Venice will see the presence of dozens of Italian and foreign exhibitors, who will offer the best from their catalogues.
For the occasion, the exhibition "The golden century of decorated papers" will also be set up, a review of papers from private collections, woodcut, gilded, silvered, marbled, glued, in a number of variations of decorations and colours.
In the 18th century, decorated papers had many uses, but they were especially used to bind books, both for the outside of the bindings and for the inside.
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