Dante: engraving after the fresco in Bargello Chapel, painted by Giotto di Bondone in the 14th century.
The Penn Library Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) possesses a large collection of Italian language materials, much of it divided into separate collections. The Italian Culture Class Collection of over 1700 items documents print culture from the early Renaissance into the mid-twentieth century. The Early Venetian Imprint Collection counts 711 items published in Venice from before 1500 through to the eigthteenth century. The Macauley Library contains 86 publications, all from the sixteenth century. The extraordinary Lea Library, a library within the Rare Book & Manuscript Library, counts nearly 1900 items in Italian. Characteristic of Lea's interests, these focus on the Catholic Church and the political and legal system of medieval and Renaissance Italy. The Lea is especially noted for its holdings of inquisitorial documents. The RBML also covers the great writers of the period, such as Petrarch, Dante, and especially Tasso.
