Fantastic Bestiary at the San Marco library

The exhibition titled The Unveiled Library: The Fantastic Bestiary, dedicated to illuminated manuscripts, will remain open to the public at the San Marco Museum until October 31, 2026.

The exhibition unfolds inside Michelozzo's Library in the former convent of San Marco, one of the first examples of a public library in Europe, built by Cosimo de' Medici in the mid-1400s.
It is a journey through a selection of richly decorated illuminated manuscripts produced from the 13th to the 16th century.
The zoomorphic decoration that enriches these manuscripts is the protagonist of the exhibition, the so-called "fantastic bestiary", including deer, phoenixes, dragons, unicorns, snakes, harpies, and many other bizarre-looking animals, each with its own particular symbolic meaning.
Some represent evil and chaos, but many are linked to the spiritual sphere. All of them interact in a way with the frescoes by Beato Angelico in the former convent.
In Christian European manuscripts, the dragon is an emblem of evil, so its defeat symbolizes the defeat of Satan and the triumph of faith, which is why it appears defeated by Saint George or the Archangel Michael.
In addition to monstrous creatures, we also find positive animals such as the phoenix, the butterfly, and the deer, symbols of resurrection or triumph over evil.
Looking back through this exhibition, we understand that these animals have maintained the same symbolic value over the centuries, just think of how they are presented in the Harry Potter saga or in the Tolkien’s books.
Of particular interest are the 15th-century codices commissioned by Cosimo de' Medici and illuminated by Zanobi Strozzi, with decorations by Filippo di Matteo Torelli. Here we find a page dedicated to the Mission of San Domenico, where the scene extends beyond the letter, and for which Beato Angelico's direct participation has also been hypothesized, probably through a preparatory drawing.

An incredibly interesting exhibition that lovers of illuminated manuscripts will certainly appreciate. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 8:30 am to 1:50 pm. Closed Mondays and the fifth Sunday of the month. Admission to the exhibition is included in the museum ticket.