The Holy Bible of Marco Polo exhibited in Tuscany

PRATO, ITALY – The bible of Marco Polo has a rich history that expands over 700 years, a fascinating testament to the first evidence of contact between Dante Alighieri’s Europe and Kublai Khan’s China. The ancient Latin manuscript was composed in 1235 and at the end of the XIII century it left for China, remaining there for over four hundred years.

A noble Chinese family kept it in safe care until 1685 when it was brought back to Europe. It arrived in Florence with a Jesuit priest, father Couplet, who gave it as a gift to Cosimo III de’ Medici. The manuscript is now housed permanently within the Biblioteca Laurenziana.

The bible was recently skillfully restored in its entirety. It has been closely studied by the Fondazione Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII, a prestigious institution founded in the1950’s by Giuseppe Dossetti, and is the focus of the upcoming exhibition «La Parola, la Via, i Secoli».

The exhibition’s inauguration was held on September 4 in Prato (few km from Florence, Italy) at the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, beneath the cathedral arcades. In addition to the manuscript itself, other key items on view are panel paintings.

Hours: Wednesday-Monday (closed on Tuesday), 10-1:00PM, 3:00PM-6:00PM. Free guided tours on September 6, 8, 11 and 16 at 5:00PM. Free entry.