At Siena the Piccolomini service-books are truly splendid; those in San
Marco, the Riccardi, the Laurentian, and other collections in Florence,
are no less admirable. Verona's best work is chiefly elsewhere, at
Florence, Siena, etc. At Milan the Brera Graduals--each of them a man's
load to carry--are simply gorgeous in the lavish richness of their
letters, miniatures, and decorations. Venice, again, has another grand
collection of MSS. of the highest class in her Attavantes and Gerard
Davids; Rome, in a crowd of princely libraries, has multitudes--literally
multitudes--of exquisitely illuminated volumes. Naples also has some
noble examples of the great craftsmen. We have not yet mentioned the
Ambrosian Library in Milan, nor, except the Vatican, a single library by
name in Rome. The mere names of the Corsini, Sciarra, Barberini
Libraries are enough to those who have ever explored their contents to
remind them of work that can nowhere else be seen so perfect, so
profuse, as in beautiful Italy.
As specimens of local centres the British Museum offers many examples.
Thus Add. 15813, though ordered for Sta. Justina of Padua, was probably
illuminated at Venice; 15814 at Bologna; 15260 probably at Ferrara;
18000 at Venice; most of the fragments in 21412 in Rome; 20927 in Rome;
21591 at Naples; 28962 at Naples; 21413 at Milan; the majority of the
Ducali, of which the museum contains a large collection, in Venice.
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