Dante, Botticelli and Ptolomy converge on Via Veneto

By Coralie Mevs

ROME, Dec. 6 - This month, the Marriott Grand Hotel Flora on Via Veneto hosts an exhibition that offers the possibility to glance at some of the most significant pieces -- or at least, close approximations -- of the Vatican's rich literary collection.

On Wednesday afternoon, an elegant waiter welcomed groups of art lovers into the hotel’s luxurious hall where the exhibition ‘Secrets of the Vatican’ celebrates the anniversary of the five-star hotel. The display provides eight duplications of the most outstanding pieces from the world renowned Vatican Library.

The pieces on display are all one of a kind, such as: Dante’s "Divine Comedy", illustrated by Botticelli, presenting Dante’s bleak vision of the future: ‘Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso’. There is also The Planisphere of Andreas Walsperger, a Christian map of the world made in the typical Medieval style of cartography, and probably the only remaining one of its kind. Also, there is another ancient may by Greek mathametician-cartographer Ptolemy.

How have these rare pieces been let out of the Vatican Library?

For 25 years now, the Vatican Library has been working with the Belser Verlag publishing house on high-quality duplicate versions of some of the most famous published works in history. Today, over 40 manuscripts of such work dating from the Sixth the 16th centuries have been published.

The published manuscripts reproduce the technical and craftsman fineness of the original ones remaining at the Vatican Library. Some of these important works are in display for the first time at the Marriott, and it is a unique possibility for art collectors, art lovers, as well as JCU students to see close-to-authentic versions up close.

The hotel's president, Salvatore Naldi, said, “We are proud to welcome this prestigious review, because no hotel has ever been the venue for such a significant event, and no celebration program of a ‘maison d’hospitalite’ has ever been enriched with such a display of initiatives to involve a large international public. For the Grand Hotel Flora, this is a great opportunity to continue its success story.”

It's also a nice excuse to take a break from exams!