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Phases of the reproduction work

Similarly to all the volumes in “The Impossible Library” series, the exact copy of the del Perugino Book of Hours was created by combining ultra-sophisticated image processing technologies with the most traditional craftsman’s techniques so as to re-create the unique enchantment emanated by the original using the most up-to-date methods.

A special type of paper was chosen to make up the book, one able to simulate the effect and texture of parchment to perfection. The choice of paper was dictated by the need to achieve an extremely faithful chromatic, tactile and “textural” reproduction that would be as resistant and long-lasting as possible so as to prevent, even if the work was subjected to intensive and prolonged use, the wear and fragility that, during the centuries, had often jeopardized not merely the consultation but even the physical survival of the original. The manuscript was therefore photographed in an air-conditioned dark room equipped with special lighting, using the combination of cameras, plates and lenses considered most suited to the characteristics of the manuscript.

The photographic plates were prepared by the processors who electronically broke up the colours, which were then reset during the printing phase. Nuances, tonality changes and even the fingerprints left on the parchment by readers of past centuries: nothing was neglected in the endeavour to ensure that the moulds perfectly matched, in their infinite chromatic and chiaroscuro gradations, the imagination and colour schemes of the great artists who had created the splendid miniatures in the manuscript.

Particular care was dedicated to the gold leaf backgrounds and the areas worked in gold paste or powder. Part of the laborious process of creating the exact copies of the work, these decorations represent a particularly demanding labour for both the colour process etcher, who must continually examine the original manuscript in order to accurately establish the various backgrounds, and for the printer, who uses traditional gilding machines in order to apply the gold leaf and proceeds with a further run using special moulds for the gold paste and lacquers. The silk-screen printing method was used with special gold inks in paste or powder form for the gold powder that the illuminator applied with a brush in order to achieve a particular relief effect. After this special intaglio printing machines were used for a further treatment that gave tactile consistency and thickness to the decoration or vignette.

The way the binding, undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and complex ever to be created during the Italian Renaissance period, was reproduced was another story. It was a truly artistic craftsman’s job, entirely hand-made and preceded by a painstaking study of all the components that made up the cover: leather and fabric coverings, enamels, golden elements, corner pieces, studs, ferrules and clasps, as well as two refined medallions depicting the Annunciation that stand out on the front and rear sides. A myriad of miscellaneous elements that the expert hands of the binder assembled with the utmost care, ably restoring all the preciousness and hand-worked skill of the original cover.

Before this result could be achieved, the publishing firm’s most qualified craftsmen and the technicians of out-sourced suppliers were obliged to conduct numberless inspections in London, as well as exhausting comparative sessions in the presence of “his majesty”, the del Perugino Book of Hours.

Le fasi di Lavorazione
Le fasi di Lavorazione


Le fasi di Lavorazione
Le fasi di Lavorazione


Le fasi di Lavorazione
Le fasi di Lavorazione


La pagina del Perugino
La pagina del Perugino

L'artista più illustre impegnato nella decorazione del libro d'Ore del Perugino è senza dubbio il Perugino.

la legatura
La legatura

La legatura del libro d'Ore del Perugino è un lavoro coevo di estrema complessità.

La vicenda del codice
Le vicende del codice

Dopo essere appartenuto agli inizi del XVI secolo alla famiglia bolognese del Perugino.