Scripta Maneant – serie

The Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore is the only patriarchal basilica of the four in Rome to have retained its paleo-Christian structures. The Basilica dates back to 425 AD and in this elegant and triumphal photographic masterpiece accomplished at the height of today’s technology, we can admire in detail the grandeur of all its artistic details: the mosaics of the nave; the ceremonial arch dating to the pontificate of Pope Sixtus III (432-440 AD); those of the apse made at the behest of Pope Nicholas V (1288-1292); the Cosmatesque floor; the coffered ceiling designed by Giuliano da San Gallo; the Nativity scene by Arnolfo di Cambio; the High Altar by Ferdinando Fuga; the Borghese, Cesi, Sforza, and Sistine Chapels; and the Crucifix and St. Michael chapels by Luigi Valadier.The Basilica is Pope Francis' final resting place.Tradition has it that the Virgin Mary herself inspired the choice of the Esquiline Hill for the church’s construction. Appearing in a dream to both the Patrician John, the landowner of the Esquiline Hill, and Pope Liberius, she asked that a church be built in her honour on a site she would miraculously indicate.Text in English and Italian.

Investigations by Sara Penco stem from the insightful finding of the absence of a key figure in the Sistine Chapel’s Last Judgement fresco. Prior to this illuminating research, Mary Magdalene was not unequivocally identified within Michelangelo’s masterpiece. Father Pfeiffer, with whom Penco establishes an inescapable dialectic, had already hypothesised the presence of Mary Magdalene in the fresco, but it is the scholar, for the first time in these pages, who convincingly justifies her identification. Mary Magdalene is closely connected to the salient episodes in the life of Jesus. The author rightly wonders, therefore, how it is possible that a figure so central to the biblical narrative and the Christian imagination could have been excluded from the depiction of the Parousia. This observation gives rise to an accurate reflection on the iconography of the saint and the Judgement, in relation to the sacred texts and in relation to Michelangelo’s poetics and production. Sara Penco traces Mary Magdalene in the tangle of figures on the wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel, contributing to characterise the fresco - one of the best known and most appreciated works in the world - with an unprecedented theological message.Text in English and Italian.

The images in this volume are the result of the photo shoot carried out in the Sistine Chapel between December 2015 and January 2016. New technologies have made it possible to achieve spectacular results, ensuring a more faithful and accurate reproduction of the Sistine masterpieces. The use of innovative Gigapixel technology has allowed achievements in life-size reproductions of the frescoes and an until now unpublished reading of the entire decoration of the Sistine, restoring its clarity and original colour.Text in English and Italian.

This volume represents an important tool for getting to know every aspect of Leonardo da Vinci's work: his pictorial technique, his scientific and technological investigation, his study on anatomy, his Codices, and every suggestion produced by his genius. All works and paintings are accompanied by descriptive and technical sheets, and ample space has been given to images and details, to the updated report on his most controversial works, to those of recent critical acceptance, and to the masterpieces that have animated the international debate such as The Encarnate Angel, the Salvator Mundi, and La Bella Principessa (Portrait of Bianca Sforza). The narrative captions reveal the most curious aspects of the history of each painting. Thanks to the direct contribution of collectors and museums the photographic reproductions of paintings and works reflect the last restorations. Text in English and French.