Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
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 triumphs that were sung about include, 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 × 13.7 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- Mid 15th century
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Script
- Calligraphic mercantesca
- Illustrations
- 23 full-page miniatures
- Content
- Petrarca's Trionfi
- Artist / School
- Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374) (author)
Miniaturist: Apollonio di Giovanni di Tommaso (1415–1465), also known as "Master of the Jarves Cassone" (illuminator)
Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
Triumphus Mortis: Triumph of Death
Although Petrarch only ascribes an actual triumphal chariot to Love, most illustrators chose to apply the device to all of the Trionfi, including Death, who is depicted here holding a scythe and standing on top of a black chariot resembling a hearse drawn by two oxen with rings in their noses. Death’s scythe and the head of one of the oxen exceed the red, white, and green frame making it appear as though Death’s triumphal procession will continue off the page.

Petrarca: Trionfi - Florence Codex
Coluccio Salutati
One of the most important political and cultural leaders of Renaissance Florence before the rise of the Medici was Coluccio Salutati (1331–1406). He was a humanist, notary, and served as Chancellor of the Florentine Republic for decades. One of the most celebrated Italian politicians of his day, he was also a scholar and humanist patron with a personal library of more than 800 books.
Salutati is depicted in profile as an elderly man who it slightly hunched forward and holding an open book while three more books lie at his feet, one leaning against the platform on which he stands. Stylishly dressed in red from his cap to his boots, he is dressed in the kind of loose flowing pleated robes that were in style during the late 14th and 15th centuries.

#1 Francesco Petrarca, I Trionfi
Language: Italian
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