Like Renaissance panel paintings: Petrarch's "Triumphs" as a masterpiece of illumination
Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
Florence (Italy) — Mid 15th century

Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
Florence (Italy) — Mid 15th century
Petrarch’s poem on the triumphs of good and beauty was one of the most popular works of the Renaissance
This specimen was inconceivably beautifully designed by a Florentine illuminator in the 15th century
Apollonia di Giovanni di Tommaso (1414–65) modeled the book's decor on the painting of the Italian Renaissance

Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
Triumphus Mortis: Triumph of Death
The personification of Death stands atop a column adorned with skulls and bat wings in an elaborate triumphal chariot drawn by two black draft horses, precisely the kind used in funerary processions. Instead of flowers, his Via Triumphalis is strewn with the corpses of proud people from across history including emperors, popes, and great warriors. Although Petrarch only ascribes an actual triumphal chariot to Love, most illustrators chose to apply the device to all of the Trionfi.
Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
- Triunfos de Petrarca
- Il Trionfi di Francesco Petrarca
- Petrarch's Triumphs
- Les Triomphes de Petrarque
- Francesco Petrarca, I Trionfi
- Petrarca: Triumphe
Short Description
Trionfi is a poem by the famous Italian lyricist Francesco Petrarca. This poem was illustrated in an inconceivably beautifully designed codex by a Florentine illuminator in the 15th century. The work contains miniature scenes that are the equivalent of great Renaissance panel paintings in their quality and is elaborately embellished and adorned with marginal decorations ennobled with gold.
Petrarca: Trionfi
The poetry of Francesco Petrarca belongs among the most significant examples of Italian literature and was a role model for the love poetry of countless famous poets worldwide. The Triumphs, whose Italian name reads Trionfi, are a famous example of the poetry of Petrarch. His tale of the Triumphs particularly shows its advantage in the so-called Florentine Codex. The extravagant illuminated codex contains miniatures and marginal decorations of incomparable quality. It comprises a Renaissance artwork of inconceivable quality.
Petrarch’s Work
Francesco Petrarca was an Italian poet and historian. He is considered to be a founder of Renaissance humanism and, along with Dante Alighieri and Boccaccio, one of the most important representatives of early Italian literature. The term Petrarchism comes from his names, which designated a widespread school of thought within European love poetry up to the 17th century. His works influenced world literature over the centuries. The Trionfi, one of the most popular poems worldwide, are a tale of the triumph of the good and the beautiful. Six triumph were sung about, the triumph of love, of chastity, of fame, of time, the triumph of death over time, and the triumph of eternity.
Breathtaking Book Decoration
The tale of the Triumphs became an unforgettable masterpiece of 15th century Italian book art through the unbelievably rich and high quality book illustrations. The manuscript contains 23 full-page miniatures and moreover, each page of the book is embellished with heady marginal depictions. The breathtaking miniatures are reminiscent of the painting of the Italian Renaissance, e.g. the panel paintings of Raphael and Botticelli. The extremely rich marginal embellishments are particularly charming. They show an unbelievable variety of patterns. Flowers and plants twine along page margins, in the middle of which depictions of fruits as well as small depictions of people are found in golden frames. The gifted miniaturist Apollonio di Giovanni di Tommaso, one of the most beloved book artists of the Italian Renaissance, is probably responsible for the design of the work. Today the valuable original codex is stored in the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Triunfos de Petrarca
Il Trionfi di Francesco Petrarca
Petrarch's Triumphs
Les Triomphes de Petrarque
Francesco Petrarca, I Trionfi
Petrarca: Triumphe - Size / Format
- 102 pages / 21.7 x 13.7 cm
- Origin
- Florence (Italy)
- Date
- Mid 15th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 23 full-page miniatures
- Artist / School
- Author: Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374)
Miniaturist: Miniaturist: Apollonio di Giovanni di Tommaso (1415–1465), also known as "Master of the Jarves Cassone"

Petrarca: Trionfi – Florence Codex
Triumph of Love
In a dream, the poet imagines that Love, personified by a naked and winged young man armed with a bow, is drawn by four white horses on a fiery triumphal chariot. He is followed by the multitudes of those conquered by Love including various figures from history, literature, mythology, the Bible, and various ancient poets and medieval troubadours as they proceed to the island of Cyprus, where Venus was born.
Aside from his legions of conquests, Love is accompanied by four cupids who point their bows and arrows in all directions as well as hybrid creatures with human heads and winged bodies. The frame is as elaborate as the primary image and consists of a colorful, gilded tendril border filled with birds, squirrels, cherubs, and six medallion miniatures.
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex“
Francesco Petrarca, I Trionfi
- Publisher
- ArtCodex – Modena, 2010
- Limited Edition
- 999 copies
- Binding
- Leather
- Commentary
-
1 volume (196 pages) by Ida Giovanna Rao
Language: Italian - More Information
- 23 carat fine gold on CartaPergamena
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