Alexander's Novel

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Content

he first Italian translation of "Alexander's Novel", the legendary version of the deeds of Alexander Magno. Composed in the Hellenistic age, had, for all of late antiquity and the Middle Ages, an infinity of versions, in almost all the languages of the world. The popularity of the fabulous history of Alexander, that influenced art and literature for centuries, waned after 1500, when the "Novel" was replaced by the historical version of his enterprise. About ten years ago the "Novel" was "re-discovered" and the original text translated. Following the integral text of the "Alexander's Novel", in this volume, an original translation of the life of Alexander Magno of Plutarco is also published. The "Novel" is illustrated with miniatures, painted by Armenian, Neo Greek and Byzantine artists taken from ancient geographical papers, in which it is possible to reconstruct the route of Alexander; from images of fantastic animals and monsters drawn from sketches in medieval codices and by the "Bestiary". The primary images that illustrate the text is taken up by the most extraordinary and prodigious episodes from the adventures of Macedonians, up to the borders of the known world: the prodigious birth, the flight in the sky with the grill, the exploration of the seabed with a glass submarine, the meeting with the fabulous monsters of east. The text of the "Novel" is preceded by an essay by Monica Centanni that reconstructs the history of the text and the history of its images, that came to influence the medieval travellers.

Alexander's Coin

To complement the volume, a reproduction, in silver, of a rare original coin of Alexander the Great. The original of the coin is held in a private collection.

Author

Monica Centanni, curator in the Department of Conservation of Cultural Assets in the Università Ca' Foscari in Venice, specialising in the studies of Greek tragedy and of the history of classical tradition.

Technical Characteristics

• Format: 33 x 45 cm.
• Pages: 272
• Paper: gr. 220, produced by the paper maker Fabriano of Milan, Italy. The comoving is enriched with vegetable fibers that it reproduces the characteristics of the ancient papers and guarantees that the paper will endure for a long period of time.
• Binding: entirely sewn by hand in leather with gold ornamentation.
• Case: in wood, finished in walnut and leather.
• Illustrations: 100 colour plates.
• Limited edition of 1999 numbered copies.

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