Rare Czech manuscript travels to Italy for first time in centuries
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The city of Aquileia, Italy, hosted an exhibition opening on September 12th featuring a fragment of the Gospel of Mark from the Czech Republic. This marked the first time the ancient manuscript left Czech territory since 1354, when Charles IV brought a portion of the text to Prague.
The manuscript is the oldest held in Czech archives, though research indicates it dates to the 6th century, not directly to Saint Mark as once believed.
Charles IV acquired the fragment from his half-brother, the Patriarch of Aquileia, believing it was written by the saint himself. Another part of the original codex is held by the Republic of Venice, acquired as spoils of war in 1420, and a third section resides in a museum in Cividale del Friuli. Organisers see the exhibition as a chance to reunite these pieces after seven centuries.
Local officials in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region and the city of Aquileia celebrated the exhibit as a symbol of shared European heritage. Czech officials, including Bishop Zdeněk Wasserbauer and Ambassador Raděk Rubeš, emphasized the exhibition’s potential to strengthen cultural and economic ties between the Czech Republic and Italy. The manuscript will remain in Aquileia for six weeks before returning to Prague, to allow visitors to view it without risking damage from prolonged exposure.
