Zichy codex
Permanent URI for this collection
The most valuable unique item in the Szabó Ervin Library in Budapest is the Zichy Codex, an Italian-language paper codex of Venetian origin dating from the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries. The collection of drawings and texts was bequeathed to the capital city by politician, distinguished traveler, and Asia researcher Jenő Zichy (1837-1906), along with his other collections. The Zichy family acquired it in 1841 or 1842, purchasing it from the renowned antiquarian Sámuel Literáti Nemes. It was probably previously kept at the Carthusian monastery of S. Andrea del Litore in Venice.
The codex is rich in brush and pen drawings. These mostly depict architectural details based on Roman-era monuments. The entries on various topics are of interest to literary historians and architectural historians alike.
It is a treat for literary scholars because Angelo dal Cortivo wrote down nearly three hundred Italian love and political poems in the Venetian dialect on these pages, including sonnets, songs, and works by anonymous or well-known Italian poets that cannot be found elsewhere. Most of these were unknown even to later owners because they were covered by engravings glued onto the pages. The engravings were removed by restorers in 1914 and are now kept at the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts.
In recent years, architectural historians have rediscovered the manuscript. The codex contains a major treatise on architectural theory, which has recently been identified as a version of Francesco di Giorgio Martini's treatise. Francesco di Giorgio (1439-1502), a native of Siena, was a true Renaissance man, an architect, painter, sculptor, and military engineer. He is also credited with the construction of the Ducal Palace in Urbino. He planned to study all the ancient monuments in Italy, and many of these studies have survived in the Bibl. Saluzziana in Turin and the Uffizi drawing collection in Florence, which is why our codex contains countless drawings of ancient cornices, plinths, friezes, altars, etc. The volume also includes a depiction of a contemporary heating device.
The codex is rich in brush and pen drawings. These mostly depict architectural details based on Roman-era monuments. The entries on various topics are of interest to literary historians and architectural historians alike.
It is a treat for literary scholars because Angelo dal Cortivo wrote down nearly three hundred Italian love and political poems in the Venetian dialect on these pages, including sonnets, songs, and works by anonymous or well-known Italian poets that cannot be found elsewhere. Most of these were unknown even to later owners because they were covered by engravings glued onto the pages. The engravings were removed by restorers in 1914 and are now kept at the Hungarian Museum of Fine Arts.
In recent years, architectural historians have rediscovered the manuscript. The codex contains a major treatise on architectural theory, which has recently been identified as a version of Francesco di Giorgio Martini's treatise. Francesco di Giorgio (1439-1502), a native of Siena, was a true Renaissance man, an architect, painter, sculptor, and military engineer. He is also credited with the construction of the Ducal Palace in Urbino. He planned to study all the ancient monuments in Italy, and many of these studies have survived in the Bibl. Saluzziana in Turin and the Uffizi drawing collection in Florence, which is why our codex contains countless drawings of ancient cornices, plinths, friezes, altars, etc. The volume also includes a depiction of a contemporary heating device.