


Biblioteca del Seminario, Ms 194, f. 13r. Dioscoride, De materia medica
Musei Civici, Palazzo Zuckermann,
Corso Garibaldi, 33, Padova
Exhibition promoted and organised by the Comune di Padova – Musei Civici di Padova and Dipartimento di Studi
Linguistici e Letterari, Università degli Studi di Padova
Exhibition
This exhibition reconstructs the relationship between Byzantium and Padua through the history of the study of the Greek language in the city and its university during the Renaissance. The topic is illustrated through a selection of manuscripts and printed books from Paduan libraries (Biblioteca Civica, Biblioteca Universitaria, Biblioteca del Seminario, Archivio storico dell’Università). The various sections include Byzantine manuscripts, such as the Dioscurides one from the Biblioteca del Seminario (Seminary Library), finely illuminated with images of plants, along with numerous documents illustrating the work of the first Byzantine scholars in Padua (such as John Argyropoulos, who studied in the city and whose portrait adorns the Sala dei Quaranta in Palazzo Bo);
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the spread of Greek studies within the context of Paduan Humanistic culture; and the Greek or Italian professors who taught Greek language and literature at Padua University – such as Demetrios Chalkokondyles, the first Professor of Greek, and Niccolò Leonico Tomeo, who stood at the centre of a concentrated network of Italian and European scholars.
Through archival material and manuscripts, one final section explores the presence of Greek (overseas) students from different areas of the Mediterranean, and the central role played by the University in the education of intellectuals within the formerly Byzantine territories that came to be governed by the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
Exhibition
This exhibition reconstructs the relationship between Byzantium and Padua through the history of the study of the Greek language in the city and its university during the Renaissance. The topic is illustrated through a selection of manuscripts and printed books from Paduan libraries (Biblioteca Civica, Biblioteca Universitaria, Biblioteca del Seminario, Archivio storico dell’Università). The various sections include Byzantine manuscripts, such as the Dioscurides one from the Biblioteca del Seminario (Seminary Library), finely illuminated with images of plants, along with numerous documents illustrating the work of the first Byzantine scholars in Padua (such as John Argyropoulos, who studied in the city and whose portrait adorns the Sala dei Quaranta in Palazzo Bo); the spread of Greek studies within the context of Paduan Humanistic culture; and the Greek or Italian professors who taught Greek language and literature at Padua University – such as Demetrios Chalkokondyles, the first Professor of Greek, and Niccolò Leonico Tomeo, who stood at the centre of a concentrated network of Italian and European scholars.
Through archival material and manuscripts, one final section explores the presence of Greek (overseas) students from different areas of the Mediterranean, and the central role played by the University in the education of intellectuals within the formerly Byzantine territories that came to be governed by the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
Biblioteca del Seminario, Forc. K.2.1 82, c. Air. Inizio dell’Iliade.

Exhibition directors
Francesca Veronese and Niccolò Zorzi
Caposettore Cultura, Turismo, Musei e Biblioteche
Federica Franzoso
Direttore Musei Civici
Francesca Veronese
Curator
Niccolò Zorzi (University of Padova)
Scientific committee
Giovanna Bergantino
Vincenza Donvito
Ciro Giacomelli
Nicoletta Giovè
Marta Nezzo
Francesco Piovan
Antonio Rigo
Francesco Scalora
Stefano Trovato
Francesca Veronese
Valeria Vettorato
Niccolò Zorzi
Organising secretary
Francesca Maria Tedeschi
Photographs
Marco Campaci
Patronage
Università degli Studi di Padova
Centro per la Storia dell’Università di Padova
Associazione Italiana di Studi Bizantini
International Association of Byzantine Studies/Association internationale des études byzantines
24th International Congress of Byzantine Studies
With the contribution of
Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo
Dipartimento di Studi Linguistici e Letterari, Università degli Studi di Padova
Lending institutions
Università degli studi di Padova – Archivio Generale di Ateneo
Biblioteca Civica di Padova
Biblioteca Antica del Seminario Vescovile di Padova
Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova
Musei Civici di Padova – Museo Bottacin
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Biblioteca del Seminario, Forc. K.2.1 82, c. Air. Inizio dell’Iliade.
