Regions of Russia: Exhibition “Italian book in Simbirsk. 16th – 19th cc.” launched in Ulyanovsk

The exhibition called “Italian book in Simbirsk. 16th – 19th cc.” is opening on March 22, 2011 at the Rare Book and Manuscript Division, the V.I. Lenin Ulyanovsk Library.

The exhibition has been organized within the framework of the Cultural Exchange Year for Russia and Italy.

The library’s “Italian collection” is not very large: the exposition showcases about 50 editions. These are books, which were donated to the Karamzin Public Library by its patrons, Italian literature buffs – the Valuyev and Bestuzhev families, Rostovskaya etc.

It puts on display genuine masterworks of the book art: editions by famous Italian printers of 16th – 18th cc. – Aldus Manutius, Gabriele Giolito de Ferrari, Giambattista Bodoni. Visitors of the exhibition will have a chance to see rare editions of immortal works by Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, fundamental works by Machiavelli, memoirs of Casanova, works by popular authors of 19th c. – Ariosto and Alfieri, Metastasio and Tasso. The exhibition will run until April 30.