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The British Library

The British Library of London was established as an independent institution in 1973, detached from the British Museum but incorporating its book collections. It is the national Library of the United Kingdom and contains about 25 million books, while the global number of items kept there exceeds 150 million pieces and includes books, newspapers, magazines, sound recordings, documents, maps, prints, drawings and more besides.


 Situated in Euston Road, in the largest public building to have been erected in the United Kingdom in the 20th century, designed by the architect Colin St. John Wilson, the library contains many works of extraordinary historic and artistic interest. These include the Diamond Sutra (the first printed book, dating back to the year 868, made in China during the Tang dynasty), the Lindisfarne Gospel, the Egerton Gospel, two copies of Gutenberg’s Bible, Leonardo da Vinci’s handbook, known as the Arundel Codex, the Sforza Book of Hours as well as original music scores by Bach, Mozart, Mahler and Britten. There is also a great number of exceedingly beautiful illuminated manuscripts, including the renowned Divine Comedy of Alfonso I of Aragon, king of Naples, illuminated by Vecchietta and by Giovanni di Paolo, and reproduced as a facsimile by Franco Cosimo Panini Editore.



British Library
British Library


British Library
British Library


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.