Restored in 2010 with partial funding from an anonymous donor.

Greeks have been present in Venice from the tenth century onward. After conquering Constantinople in 1204, the Venetian Republic assumed an important role in the East, and Greek merchants established a presence in Venice to conduct trade. Many Greek refugees also arrived after 1453 when Constantinople was proclaimed the capital of the Ottoman Empire. An illustrious refugee was Anna Notaràs Paleoghina, the daughter of the Grand Duke of Constantinople, Luca Notaràs. Forced to flee, Anna traveled to various cities in Italy and settled in Venice when she was well over sixty. She became the representative and protector of the Greek Orthodox refugees in Venice; when she died in 1507, she left the Greek community several priceless icons and this illuminated Book of the Gospel that she had carried with her from Constantinople. The manuscript is a rare example of Byzantine workmanship.

The work was restored by conservator Giorgio Boudalis of the Museum of Byzantine Civilization of Thessaloniki, with the guidance of the Istituto Ellenico.

For select projects, conservation dossiers in Italian containing limited textual and photographic documentation may be available for consultation by appointment at the Venice office of Save Venice and the Rosand Library & Study Center. For inquiries, please contact us at venice@savevenice.org.

Unidentified artist
Book of the Gospel
Thirteenth century