POST-SCRIPTUM: in Bologna, an Exhibition on the Reuse of Medieval and Early Modern Manuscripts

For centuries, manuscripts were the main vehicle for preserving memory and transmitting knowledge and culture — a role they retained until the advent of printing. Yet these ancient documents never truly ceased to serve a purpose, even after their gradual “decommissioning”, though in ways that were unexpected and surprising. The free exhibition “POST-SCRIPTUM. Survivals of Ink and Parchment”, on view until 16 November at the Cardinal Giacomo Lercaro Museum of Art, explores this peculiar form of survival of handwritten texts produced in the Middle Ages and the early modern period: the reuse of discarded parchment.

Curated by the RAM Centre for Manuscript Research and Analysis and the Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies at the University of Bologna, in collaboration with the Archiepiscopal Archive of Bologna and the Lercaro Museum of Art, the exhibition tells the story of how books and documents that were no longer read or had lost their value were not thrown away, but rather dismembered and cut into fragments to be reused, especially as binding material.

The fragments on display bring to light traces of true bestsellers of Latin and medieval literature, alongside remnants of refined liturgical and musical books, university texts, and even municipal statutes. They reveal virtuous practices and eco-friendly models of behaviour rooted in the region’s most ancient cultural traditions.

An unprecedented and original journey through these documentary relics, whose folds of recycled parchment sometimes unveil micro-stories and echoes of events, people, possessions, and places from Bologna’s history — often the only surviving traces of them.

The exhibition also features works by Antonello Ghezzi and Sara Vasini, creating a striking dialogue between ancient survivals of ink and parchment and contemporary art — between old and new expressive languages revolving around the themes of memory, written culture, and reuse.

At the same time, free guided tours led by the exhibition’s curators and members of the scientific committee who made it possible will accompany visitors through this evocative journey.

Further information.