The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Pope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi, 1599–1667) extensively annotated a copy of the 1499 incunable Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (hereafter ‘HP’), printed by Aldus Manutius, which is in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. The HP, an architectural dream narrative crossed with an encyclopedia, has attracted s...
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Cerae: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Ceræ |
| Online Access: | https://ceraejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Vol.-11-2-Russell.pdf |
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| author | James Russell |
| author_facet | James Russell |
| author_sort | James Russell |
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| description | Pope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi, 1599–1667) extensively annotated a copy of the 1499 incunable Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (hereafter ‘HP’), printed by Aldus Manutius, which is in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. The HP, an architectural dream narrative crossed with an encyclopedia, has attracted scholarly attention primarily due to its elaborate architectural woodcuts and to speculation as to the identity of its anonymous author. This study reorients the focus towards its readership, reframing the HP as a used text as evidenced by the Pope’s marginalia. Prior studies have noted the resemblance of a woodcut of an elephant-and-obelisk in the HP to the last sculpture by Bernini in Chigi’s lifetime, outside Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This paper, the first extended study of Chigi’s marginalia, shows that the Pope’s engagement with the HP went beyond this one sculpture. Chigi thought of his journey through the architectural dreamspace by analogy with his own actual progresses through Baroque Rome under construction. The Pope marked the locations of characters and objects within the HP’s three-dimensional diegetic space. Moreover, Chigi also took interest in the rhetorical structure of the HP’s descriptions of its visual marvels, drawing on the traditions of imprese and acutezze. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-143f6d3abc2c49b6879102e3ae344a6f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2204-146X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Cerae: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ceræ |
| spelling | doaj-art-143f6d3abc2c49b6879102e3ae344a6f2025-08-20T03:32:41ZengCerae: An Australasian Journal of Medieval and Early Modern StudiesCeræ2204-146X2024-01-01113263The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia PoliphiliJames Russell0Rio Salado CollegePope Alexander VII (Fabio Chigi, 1599–1667) extensively annotated a copy of the 1499 incunable Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (hereafter ‘HP’), printed by Aldus Manutius, which is in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. The HP, an architectural dream narrative crossed with an encyclopedia, has attracted scholarly attention primarily due to its elaborate architectural woodcuts and to speculation as to the identity of its anonymous author. This study reorients the focus towards its readership, reframing the HP as a used text as evidenced by the Pope’s marginalia. Prior studies have noted the resemblance of a woodcut of an elephant-and-obelisk in the HP to the last sculpture by Bernini in Chigi’s lifetime, outside Santa Maria sopra Minerva. This paper, the first extended study of Chigi’s marginalia, shows that the Pope’s engagement with the HP went beyond this one sculpture. Chigi thought of his journey through the architectural dreamspace by analogy with his own actual progresses through Baroque Rome under construction. The Pope marked the locations of characters and objects within the HP’s three-dimensional diegetic space. Moreover, Chigi also took interest in the rhetorical structure of the HP’s descriptions of its visual marvels, drawing on the traditions of imprese and acutezze.https://ceraejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Vol.-11-2-Russell.pdf |
| spellingShingle | James Russell The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Ceræ |
| title | The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili |
| title_full | The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili |
| title_fullStr | The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili |
| title_short | The Marginalia of Pope Alexander VII in a Vatican Copy of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili |
| title_sort | marginalia of pope alexander vii in a vatican copy of the hypnerotomachia poliphili |
| url | https://ceraejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Vol.-11-2-Russell.pdf |
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