Comento Di Christophoro Landino Fiorentino Sopra La Comedia Di Danthe Alighieri Poeta Fiorentino
Comento Di Christophoro Landino Fiorentino Sopra La Comedia Di Danthe Alighieri Poeta Fiorentino
Impresso in Vinegia: Per Petro Cremonese dito Veronese, a di 18 di Noue[m]brio 1491
Vassar is fortunate to possess two incunabula—books printed in the 15th century—with texts of Dante. Both were printed in Venice, which became a center of early printing. The first dates from 1484 and the second, shown here, from 1491. On each page of this folio volume Dante’s text—appearing in a larger font—is surrounded by the commentary of Cristoforo Landino, a Renaissance humanist who championed vernacular works in Italian. In addition, the book includes 100 woodcuts, similar in design to the illustrations made by Botticelli for a 1481 edition published in Florence. Vassar’s copy includes handwritten annotations by a contemporary reader. It once belonged to Francis Fitz Randolph, a former trustee; the Library’s rare book reading room is named after him.