Man has always asked questions about his own future. What will become of me? Whither should I turn for an answer that will help me to face my destiny with confidence?
It was to answer such questions that Lorenzo Spirito Gualtieri (1426-1496) of Perugia devised and wrote, for the delight of a Perugian family (possibly the Braccio da Montone), a sort of parlour game – the Libro delle Sorti – which included the questions and answers most pertinent to the people of that age: happiness, marriage, the birth of a child, the moment of death, the outcome of a war, success in business.
The manuscript, preserved in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, was received with especial favour and in a short time became a great publishing success, with dozens of printed editions both in Italy and abroad.
The Libro delle Sorti, completed by its author in 1482, comprises five sections – wheel of Fortune, kings, astrological symbols, celestial spheres, prophets – each of which was illustrated in the first decade of the 16th century by Umbrian painters in the circle of Pietro Perugino and of the young Raphael. This splendid series of miniatures, enlivened with touches of gold, represents a synthesis of the figurative culture of Central Italy at the time.
We have 1 facsimile edition of the manuscript "Libro delle Sorti di Lorenzo Gualtieri": Libro delle Sorti di Lorenzo Gualtieri facsimile edition, published by Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, 2006
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