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The three surviving fragments of one of the most significant medieval European codices comprising the Gospel of Mark will be assembled in Aquileia (Udine) for the first time in nearly seven centuries during an international exhibition spanning from September 12, 2026, to April 25, 2027. The exhibition, housed at Palazzo Meizlik, the home of the Aquileia Foundation, presents the story of a manuscript that, after centuries of preservation in the patriarchal city, was fragmented and dispersed along numerous routes and destinations. The codex's history began at Aquileia, where it was preserved for centuries. In the early Middle Ages, the Patriarchate of Aquileia was Europe's greatest diocese, connecting Rome, Byzantium, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Slavic world. Given their religious, cultural, and political significance, the return of the three remaining sections to the same location is very noteworthy. The exhibition will bring together artifacts from St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, the National Archaeological Museum in Cividale del Friuli, the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus in Prague, and the Cathedral Treasury. The latter, regarded as an indivisible heritage of the Czech state and people, is leaving the Czech Republic for the first time.
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