The digitisation of the treasures of the Vatican Library is progressing. As the page http://digital.vatlib.it/en/ will tell you, only some 4,400 of the 82,000 manuscripts, prints, drawings and incunabula (i.e. books printed before 1500 AD) have been stored digitally, but help is at hand. International Business Times reports that the Japanese company NTT Data has promised to assist in the huge endeavour. The company will help digitise another 3,000 works over the next four years and the works will be available online free of charge. You can already take a closer look at, for instance, Botticelli's sketches for his illustration of Dante's Divine Comedy, commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici. Take a look at them here. |