A masterpiece entirely in gold and purple: one of the last and one of the most beautiful purple manuscripts of the late Middle Ages
Durazzo Book of Hours
Parma (Italy) — Beginning of the 16th century

Durazzo Book of Hours
Parma (Italy) — Beginning of the 16th century
The painter and goldsmith Francesco Marmitta (ca. 1460–1505) designed this incredible interplay of purple and gold
The book of hours named after its last owner is dressed with a noble garment of gold, silver, and precious stones
Beautiful calligraphy, sensitive lines, and soulful landscapes: a masterpiece of the Renaissance

Durazzo Book of Hours
The Specter of Death
Although Death is most typically portrayed as a psychopomp – an impartial guide to the afterlife devoid of judgement, it is presented here as the Angel of Death with wings, a crown, and a red robe trimmed in gold. This is rooted in the tradition that Death is an angel to whom God has given dominion over the deceased. The miniature shows men drowned in a shipwreck, a man pierced through the throat with an arrow, another laid low with disease, and finally a white-haired man dying of old age.
Durazzo Book of Hours
- Libro d'Ore Durazzo
- Durazzo-Stundenbuch
Short Description
The Durazzo Book of Hours arose in Italy at the beginning of the 16th century. It was designed by the popular painter and goldsmith Francesco Marmitta. The manuscript is recorded in golden script on purple vellum. The splendid manuscript is furnished with refined miniatures and initials, as well as an astoundingly valuable binding embellished with noble stones, gold, and silver.
Durazzo Book of Hours
Books of hours were handwritten and illuminated codices that were used for prayer and private devotion. The valuable, well-appointed manuscripts were mostly commissioned by members of the nobility. Books of hours rose to become the overall most-beloved book genre of the Middle Ages. The Durazzo Book of Hours, which was named after its last owner, is one of the most unusual masterpieces of this genre. The valuable codex was composed in golden script on purple vellum. No other book of hours boasts these characteristics. Six astonishing, full-page miniatures and over 200 decorative initials additionally adorn the special manuscript.
A Universal Talent
The artist Francesco Marmitta was responsible for the thrilling design of the splendid codex. Marmitta was an unusually talented Italian illuminator and calligrapher. The versatile artist from Parma was famous for his work as a painter, sculptor, and goldsmith. He displayed his prowess in world-renowned luxury manuscripts such as the Missale Domenico della Rovere, for example. The painter’s refined pictures distinguish themselves through a sensible layout of the line and through the pronounced talent of the master in the field of landscape painting. His special preference for realistic depictions of jewels, precious stones, and medallions lends the miniatures an incomparably sumptuous flavor.
A Unique Book Treasure
The precious manuscript’s purple pages with gold script are reminiscent in their style of royal robes and garments. The truly kingly impression that the work leaves behind in its beholders, is further strengthened by the many refined depictions of valuable gems and noble stones. The elegant, unusually-designed binding of the book is no less splendid. It consists of a bed of purple velvet and is decorated with chiseled elements of silver and gold. Two silver clasps embellished with small rubies round out the binding of the truly majestic work.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Libro d'Ore Durazzo
Durazzo-Stundenbuch - Size / Format
- 432 pages / 14.3 × 9.7 cm
- Origin
- Parma (Italy)
- Date
- Beginning of the 16th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 6 full-page illuminations and 201 illumiated initials
- Artist / School
- Artist: Francesco Marmitta
Scribe: Pietro Antonio Sallando - Previous Owners
- Antonio Bacigalupo
Marquis Marcello Luigi Durazzo

Durazzo Book of Hours
December: Slaughtering Swine
The calendar sections found at the beginning of books of hours usually contain depictions of “labors of the month”, i.e. activities that are typical for the respective time of year, December in this case. The richness of the materials for this page – purple parchment, gold ink, classical floral motifs, and square medallion miniatures – allows for the elegant, restrained design chosen by the artist.
The miniature on the left depicts the relevant zodiac symbol, Capricorn, depicted as a sea-goat against a sky blue background with an orange sun. On the right, a butcher is depicted carving up the carcass of a pig, which is likely being prepared for smoking, brining, or some other method of preserving the meat through the long winter.
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Durazzo Book of Hours“
Libro d'Ore Durazzo
- Publisher
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore – Modena, 2008
- Limited Edition
- 980 copies
- Binding
- Velvet with gilded silver and two rubies.
- Commentary
-
1 volume by Andrea De Marchi, Davide Gasparotto, Beatrice Bentivoglio-Ravasio, Laura Malfatto and Laura Nuvoloni
- More Information
- Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.
Matching Works
Brussels Hours
With the famous portrait of Jean Duc de Berry as patron: masterly miniatures in demi-grisaille technique in an outstandingly beautiful book of hours
Experience MoreHours of Jeanne d'Evreux
Magical miniatures in the grisaille technique by Jean Pucelle: a great masterpiece in small format for the Queen of France
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Books of Hours
What is a book of hours? A prayer book for personal use based upon the “offices” or official prayers that were to be said...Experience moreRenaissance
What does the word “Renaissance” bring to mind for you? Art, science, and culture of course! It was a "rebirth" and...Experience more16th Century
When did the Middle Ages end and the Early Modern Period begin? Most agree it was sometime in the course of the 16th...Experience morePrayer Books
Interested in a personal glimpse into the personality of a famous medieval figure? Prayer books were small codices...Experience more
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)