From October 12, 2023, the exhibition “The historical and literary sources of the Betrothed“ will be on display in the windows of rooms 2 and 3 of the Pinacoteca.
There is no need to remember how much the figure of Cardinal Federico Borromeo and his great Milanese institution had an impact on the construction of the Betrothed.
Precisely for this reason the Ambrosiana commemorates the 150th anniversary of Alessandro Manzoni’s death with this selected exhibition of rare volumes which, by explicit admission of the Author, provided historical material for the ‘truthful’ creation of the Novel.
For the most part, these are texts that are not easy to find – some are even the only surviving examples – which provided Manzoni with the information for the plot of his story.
Thus, also on this theme, the Ambrosiana Library manages to draw, from its inexhaustible book heritage, precious relics that can offer new sources of studies and interpretations on the figure of the most famous novelist of Italian literature.
Portrait of Federico Borromeo, from
Miscellanea riguardante la Biblioteca Ambrosiana e i suoi dottori e prefetti
Z351 sup, f. 413v
