The Rediscovered Choir Books of the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte in Cesena

Abstract

The article presents an unpublished cycle of choir books written and illuminated at the end of XVI Century for the Benedictine Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte, believed to be lost. The volumes were taken from the Abbey during the suppressions of religious orders, eventually being forgotten in the storage of the Biblioteca Malatestiana. The production of liturgic books in the late Renaissance is studied on the basis of the documents in the State Archive and the signatures of scribes and artists hidden in the pen flourished initials. A new artist is discovered, Ignazio da Otranto, co-authoring these books with his confrere Serafino. The relationships between this cycle and others in the Benedictine Roman Province during the XVI^th and XVII^th centuries are investigated, throwing light on the exchanges among the Cesena Abbey and the Abbeys in Ravenna, Subiaco and Farfa.