Through the LIBRARY it is possible to consult the data sheet of several important codices that enable to reconstruct the written culture of the patriarchate of Aquileia. Moreover, for many codices, the complete reproductions are made available, which makes this site a true virtual library of patriarchal Friuli.

Gradual of the Parish Church of Spilimbergo

  • Late 14th - Early 15th century (within 1503); parchment; mm 510 × 385; ff. II, 243, II’.
  • Spilimbergo, Archivio Parrocchiale, 3.

The codex is part of the series of choir books for the cathedral church of Spilimbergo drawn by the painter Giovanni de Cramariis from Udine under the lords of Spilimbergo’s patronage.

The codex is part of the series of choir books for the cathedral church of Spilimbergo consisting of six volumes that are still nowadays kept in loco and have left a wide and interesting documentation thereon. That evidences the sales of parchments occurred in Venice in 1484, the names of the writers, and of the illuminator, the painter Giovanni de Cramariis from Udine, and gives data on the terms and costs for the different books manufacturing. These books were realized between 1494 and 1507, the final act of an ambitious project financed by the lords of Spilimbergo and the local clergy that had also realized the church wooden stalls, the monumental lectern and the new organ. The Gradual ms. 3, finished in 1501, is one of the most sumptuous and it well witnesses Giovanni de Cramariis’ style, whose education as a miniaturist had taken place in Siena. In this Tuscan city he had worked with two main representatives of the Renaissance miniature, Girolamo da Cremona and Liberale da Verona, to the monumental and prestigious series of the Cathedral church of Siena, which is nowadays exhibited in the Piccolomini library. The figurative culture illustrated on the present volume folia, dedicated to the time of Easter and Pentecost, pertains to the Renaissance of Veneto and Mantegna and closely matches with the Friulian painting on wooden board and on fresco, and even more with Girolamo da Cremona, in a personal interpretation by Giovanni through simpler shapes.

Country of locationItaly
LocationSpilimbergo
Library / CollectionArchivio parrocchiale
Shelfmark3
LanguagesLatin
Support materialParchment
Extentff. II, 243, II’
Formatmm 510 × 385
AgeLate 14th - Early 15th century (within 1503)
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