Digitized in very high definition the letters of Lucrezia Borgia

“Lucretia Estense de Borgia” or “the duchess of Ferrara,” is how Lucrezia (1480 - 1519) signed her name in letters written between 1502 and 1519, largely preserved at the State Archives of Modena and now digitized thanks to the support of the Fondazione di Modena and Art Bonus. Daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, later Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza Cattanei, the figure of Lucrezia Borgia d’Este has inspired numerous literary, theatrical and cinematic works over the centuries. A life marked by the evil tongues and political games of the powerful Borgia family: she was accused of revenge, intrigue and incest, but she was also a great supporter of the arts and letters. Known for her beauty, she was among the most coveted women of her time. After unfortunate marriages to Giovanni Sforza, lord of Pesaro, and Alfonso, illegitimate son of Alfonso II of Aragon, king of Naples, her third marriage to Alfonso I d’Este, duke of Ferrara, was happy and fortunate.

Dating from the Ferrara period is the corpus of autograph letters preserved among the precious documents of the Archivio Segreto Estense, kept at the State Archives in Modena. The Modena nucleus of missives comprises roughly a third of the approximately nine hundred total letters known today that can be traced back to Lucrezia, thus constituting a privileged vantage point in several respects. Indeed, the duchess’s correspondence is a source of great importance for understanding the everyday life of one of the most famous noblewomen of the Italian Renaissance. Among the letters, details emerge about the political issues that the Estense Duchy was facing at the beginning of the 16th century; there is also a wealth of information that sheds new light on Lucrezia’s many faces and provides scholars with greater insights into the historical and cultural context of Renaissance courts, the network of relationships and ties that were maintained and the communication strategies used.

The ambitious project of study, reorganization, securing, description and digitization promoted by the State Archives was made possible thanks to the support of the Fondazione di Modena and the Art Bonus, with the intention of promoting the knowledge and enhancement of a core of documentation of the Este cultural heritage.

Following interventions to secure the state of preservation by the in-house restoration laboratory of the State Archives of Modena, the 280 letters that make up the Modena corpus were acquired recto and verso at gigapixel resolution by Haltadefinizione, a tech company of the Franco Cosimo Panini publishing house that specializes in digitizing paintings, documents and ancient manuscripts.

Multispectral surveys were also conducted during the acquisition campaign. Transillumination, or transmitted light, was combined with visible gigapixel photography in order to highlight paper watermarks. The technique involves illuminating an object from the opposite direction from the observation point. In this way, if the object has transparencies, light is transmitted through the object only in the finest areas. This type of imaging highlights details that are otherwise not visible or difficult to detect, such as watermarks, and is particularly suitable for the study and preservation of historical documents, ancient books, photographs, and fragile materials.

The digitization of Lucrezia Borgia’s letters is an important piece: in fact, it has allowed for a complete and highly detailed overview of the state of preservation. The digitization campaign also involved sixteen registers of Lucrezia’s wardrobe, jewels, possessions, annuities, and expenses, amounting to about 3,158 scans.

The digital reproductions of Lucrezia’s documents, accompanied by comprehensive information, can be oraliberly consulted on Lodovico Media Library (https://lodovico.medialibrary.it/), the digital library developed by the Interdepartmental Research Center on Digital Humanities of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (DHMoRe). Based on the most modern software for high-definition visualization and manipulation of digital images, Lodovico Media Library is a federated platform that aims to enhance in an integrated way the historical and cultural heritage of the Modena and, more generally, Emilia-Romagna territory, and to promote its dissemination to the general public, without for this reason renouncing rigorous scientificity.

To date, after a little less than two years of activity, Lodovico Media Library already hosts nearly 10,000 digital or digitized documents and collaborates with some 20 public and private entities in the provinces of Modena, Bologna, Reggio Emilia, Parma and Rimini. The development of the platform has been entrusted to a group of leading companies in the fields of cultural heritage digitization (Haltadefinizione and Mida Informatica), cataloging (Hyperborea), archiving and management of high- and ultra-high-definition images (Memooria), and in running digital libraries (Horizons Unlimited).

“One of the characteristics of Foundations of Banking Origin is to be able to decline in concrete terms the fundamental principles of our Constitution where, in Article 9, there is a commitment to ’the development of culture and scientific and technical research, the protection of the landscape and of the historical and artistic heritage of the Nation.’ The Digital Humanities project, which Fondazione di Modena wholeheartedly supports, does exactly that: it protects our historical and artistic heritage with new tools through the work of young researchers, implementing a real democratization of culture,” said Paolo Cavicchioli, President of Fondazione di Modena.

“The digitization of the papers of Lucrezia Borgia d’Este represents the crowning achievement of the cycle of high-profile cultural events and manifestations launched in 2019 for the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the duchess’ death,” said Lorenza Iannacci, director of the State Archives of Modena. “An opportunity to tell the verse story of this well-known female character, a challenge to make our rich heritage known and appreciated not only to the audience of insiders.”

“Due to the extreme historical and cultural relevance of the documentation and the quality of the technologies used, the digitization of Lucrezia Borgia’s letters and records is a model of digital enhancement of documentary heritage and an example of virtuous collaboration between public and private entities to make the treasures of our archives increasingly accessible to the community,” added Matteo Al Kalak, director of DHMoRe and scientific head of Lodovico Media Library.

“Making the precious correspondence available in digital format has made the documents easily accessible to a wider audience while simultaneously protecting the preservation of the originals,” concluded Lucia Panini, president of Haltadefinizione. “The multispectral imaging techniques used during the digitization campaign allowed us to document even the watermarks with great accuracy. Thanks to digital technology, scholars around the world will be able to study and compare them. We are proud to have taken part in this project and to continue our collaboration with the State Archives of Modena.”

On Friday, April 14, the Aula magna of the Rectorate of Modena will host an afternoon of studies entitled Lucrezia Borgia d’Este digitale e non solo..., an initiative that aims to present two fundamental achievements related to Lucrezia, as part of the projects launched on the occasion of the five centuries since the death of the Este duchess, which has seen, starting in 2019, the organization of many initiatives, made possible also thanks to the support of the Fondazione di Modena and the Art Bonus.

The digitization project of Lucrezia Borgia’s papers kept in the State Archives of Modena, a complex and highly professional activity carried out by Haltadefinizione, will be presented. This work, visible through Lodovico Media Library, will be illustrated by Luca Sandoni, project manager of Lodovico, and Lucia Panini, president of Haltadefinizione.

In conclusion there will be a presentation of the book Volti e voci di e per Lucrezia, edited by Loredana Chines and Giacomo Ventura and published by Bulzoni. Coordinated by Gian Mario Anselmi (Department of Classical Philology and Italianistics, University of Bologna), Elisabetta Menetti (Department of Linguistic and Cultural Studies, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia) and Paola Vecchi (Department of Classical Philology and Italianistics, University of Bologna) will illustrate the volume.

This work proposes the papers given at the study conference of the same name held in Bologna in December 2019. That appointment the opportunity to define, thanks to interdisciplinary studies, the profile of Lucrezia Borgia, a woman whose memory is controversial, despite the interest she has aroused and continues to fuel (remember that she has been the subject of novels, comic books, films and television series), due to the many mutually divergent representations that have been given of her over the centuries.

Pictured, Letter from Lucrezia Borgia to Alfonso I d’Este dated October 8, 1510. Digitized by Haltadefinizione.

Digitized in very high definition the letters of Lucrezia Borgia

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