Il manoscritto 99 di Ulisse Aldrovandi. Il programma iconografico della residenza di campagna

Abstract

In the MS Bologna Biblioteca Universitaria 99 – here transcribed and published for the first time – Ulisse Aldrovandi proposes an iconographic project of his own design for his countryside villa. The manuscript is divided into two sections. The first, and most consistent section, deals with the first room of the villa, which is decorated with scenes from Homer’s Odyssey. The second section of the manuscript is dedicated to three spaces decorated with friezes containing emblems depicting animals and will serve as the principal focus of the present study. It is argued that the representations of these animals are closely paralleled in the watercolor plates that accompany Aldrovandi’s naturalistic treatises.