THE MINIATURE
Miniature is the art of decorating books with flourishes, figures and stories, outlined with pen or brush, in brilliant and precious colors, such as gold leaf and powder.

Established and preserved in the "Scriptoria" of the abbeys, this art developed mostly from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Mainly sacred texts were decorated, such as the Bible and those texts used by the monks during their religious functions. The "Scriptoria" remained mostly relegated to the monastic orders, especially that of the Benedictines, until the end of the Romanic period, shortly after the year 1000. Only with the creation of Universities, in the 13th century, did the first "lay Scriptoria" come into being. These were true and proper book workshops, organized in guilds. The art of the miniature became "secular" and, along with the Bible and hymn books, decorated chronicles, books of Hours, historical and judicial texts. With the invention of print, in 1500, xilography and copper-plate engraving took over miniatures. Banished from the libraries, the miniature turned to portraiture, entering thus the field of Painting.

SYLLABUS
The painting of reproductions of details of the splendid miniatures that decorate ancient tomes will be possible under the guidance of experts during the Decoration Design lessons. There will also be Italian Language lessons which will enable students to converse with local people and learn the terminology specific to this artistic field. During the History of Miniatures and History of Technology and Materials lessons there will be slide projections and texts with reproductions of miniatured codes will be shown. Knowledge of this "art of decorating" will also be implemented through lectures on the History of Monasticism. To complete the experience of this marvelous art there will be guided tours to libraries and monasteries, where it will be possible to view miniatured codes.

GUIDED TOURS
During the seminar the students will visit the Library of San Marco in Florence, the Library of Cortona and the Diocesan Museum of Arezzo, the Piccolomini Library of Siena, all places where priceless miniatured codes from the Middle Ages and the Italian Renaissance are kept.