We are now on the second step of our itinerary, the Braidense National Library, the third Italian library with about 1.500.000 books, established in 1770 by the Austrian empress Maria Teresa in order to remedy the lack of a library opened to the common population.
Until 1768 the library owned several books, including religious and scientific ones deriving from private collections. When it opened as Regia Imperialis Biblioteca Mediolanensis it overcame the number of 80.000 works.
A curious but effective method to preserve books until the first decades of ‘900 was the use of stray cats. These animals could move freely inside the library and they were useful to catch mice entering in the loopholes and avoiding the books’ gnawing.
The library shares the building with another primary institution: Brera’s Pinacoteca, a modern and ancient’s art gallery conceived as a representative place of the whole Italian art since Napoleon’s years.
Its most important rooms are dedicated to Manzoni, the main Milanese author, but Dante occupies a special position in this place, although not directly.
Inside Braidense National Library we can find some codes and manuscripts regarding the most famous Dante’s masterpiece, including a Divina Commedia’s edition published in honour of Giuseppe Bossi, an Italian painter, writer and art collector.
The figure of the poet is linked with the book called “Dante’s nose” by Pier Luigi Vercesi dated 2008, based on the Seymour Kirkup’s letters, which tell a story connected with a Dante’s fresco.
This book is set in the first half of ‘800 when a Dante’s youth portrait painted by the famous Italian artist Giotto was brought back to light in Bargello Palace’s room in Florence, where the work is still kept today.
The Grand Duke of Tuscany wanted to modify the fresco because of the three colours present in it: white, red and green, symbolizing the future unity of Italy dated 1861. The painter Kirkup, understood his intentions, accepted to be locked in the palace, succeeding in copying the original portrait to av§ oid its lost.
Then he sent the copy to Gabriele Rossetti, the co-founder’s father of Pre-Raphaelites.
The resulting pictures don’t show the real Dante’s figure because Giotto modified his face dwindling the nose. This detail named the book.
Dante is also mentioned in Dan Brown’s book called “The Hell”, which refers to the poet’s mortuary mask, belonged to Kirkup.
Considering the reading done by Gabriele Rossetti, Dante’s work could be a great allegory, intended for the people able to understand it.
As a consequence, the poet is involved in absurd interpretations, including being a templar poet. Even the writing dedicated to his beloved Beatrice certified the accusation of being an heretic and supporter of socialist ideas.
The library is also a location for exhibitions and events having Dante as a theme, as for example “Dantedì”, an entire day dedicated to the Florentine poet established by the Italian government. It’s scheduled on 25th March, the day in which, according to researchers, Dante would have begun his track towards the Hell.
We are at the turning point of our itinerary today. We will continue until “Pettinaroli” shop, the last step of our exciting journey discovering Dante at Brera district.
If you want to have a break before ending the visit, Jamaica Bar could be a good choice. It’s an icon of Milan welcoming intellectuals like Lucio Fontana, Ernest Hemingway and Dario Fo.