Aldo Manuzio and Venice

Until June 19th , 2016 at the Accademia Galleries you can delve into the world of the book in Venice in the 16th century.

In the Middle Ages the book is a rare and precious object, entirely produced by hand, often illustrated with high quality images. With the invention of printing, Europe moved very quickly to a new conception of the book, which becomes an object more easily reproduceable and at significantly lower costs.

Aldo Manuzio was a forward-looking entrepreneur. His experience as a teacher had taught him that the need for classic books could not be satisfied with the traditional techniques and formats. Venice, the city in which he lived, was a cultural capital and a city of merchants who welcomed entrepreneurial innovations with ease.

Aldo Manuzio inventes the italics, smooth for reading, and enabled the development of portable volumes, which could be read in more places and everyday moments.

The exhibition brings together manuscripts, printed books, paintings, sculptures and documents and aims to trace this fundamental historical stage in detail.