The Revealed Library: a Fantastic Bestiary at the Museo di San Marco

The Revealed Library: a Fantastic Bestiary at the Museo di San Marco

From 11 April to 31 October 2026 the Museo di San Marco in Florence hosts The Revealed Library: the Fantastic Bestiary, a dossier exhibition highlighting the miniated manuscripts preserved in the Michelozzo Library. The display showcases a selection of codices from the 13th to the 16th century, featuring both real and imaginary creatures, religious symbols and links to contemporary visual culture.

What to see

The itinerary revolves around the theme of the bestiary: dragons, basilisks, unicorns, harpies and various zoomorphic figures accompany symbols of rebirth such as the phoenix, butterflies and the stag. Notable works include the 15th-century codices Ms 515 and 516, illuminated by Zanobi Strozzi for Medici patrons, alongside manuscripts that trace the evolution of symbolic language from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

Historical and artistic context

The Michelozzo Library, built around 1440 at the behest of Cosimo de' Medici, stands as an early example of a public Renaissance library. The exhibition also highlights links with Zanobi Strozzi’s miniature practice, Byzantine and Gothic manuscript traditions among the older volumes, and the convent’s cultural life, creating a dialogue between books and the Beato Angelico–decorated cells.

Practical information

• Venue: Museo di San Marco, Florence.
• Dates: 11 April – 31 October 2026.
• Opening hours: open Tuesday to Sunday, 8:30–13:50 (last admission 12:45). Closed on Mondays, the fifth Sunday of the month, 1 January and 25 December.
• Tickets: admission included in the museum ticket. Indicative fees: full €11, reduced €2 for EU citizens aged 18–25; free for under-18s; additional concessions and free entries available for state museum categories.
• Scientific coordination and curators: scientific coordination by Marco Mozzo; curated by Sara Fabbri, Sara Ragazzini and Anna Soffici.

This exhibition is an opportunity to examine the decorative and symbolic richness of the miniated codices held in the historic library, reinterpreting ancient imagery in the light of modern narratives and sensitivities.