Project Continues to Digitally Preserve
Humankind’s Cultural Heritage with Latest Technology
The Vatican Apostolic Library, Digita Vaticana, NTT DATA
Corporation and Canon Inc. today announced their agreement to
present special faithful reproductions of a rare 1,600-year-old
manuscript to the first 200 people/organizations who donate 500
euros or more to support an ongoing project that is using NTT DATA
technology to digitally archive thousands of manuscripts at the
Vatican Library. The reproductions will give the beholders the
impression of looking at the original masterpiece. Donations should
be made to Digita Vaticana (www.digitavaticana.org), a nonprofit
organization that raises funds for the Library’s digitization
project. Beginning today, reproductions, certified by the Library,
can be booked by making a donation, and Digita Vaticana will
distribute this special gift to donors and supporters of the
project in September.
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Vergilius Vaticanus, Folio XXIIr, Creusa
trying to detain Aeneas from the battle, 4th cent.
The facsimile will accurately reproduce the appearance of the
manuscript. The digitization process is being handled by NTT DATA.
Faithful reproduction of the original manuscript is made possible
through the combination of Canon’s proprietary material appearance
image-processing technology and Canon Group company Océ’s elevated
printing technology.
The collaboration demonstrates how advanced technologies can be
used to preserve and share ancient treasures as evidence of
humankind’s universal cultural heritage. Canon’s innovative
image-processing and printing technologies will produce
exceptionally faithful reproductions of Folio 22 recto of the
Vatican Virgil, one of the most important pages in the Vatican
Library’s collections. A limited edition of 200 copies of the
reproduction will be distributed to donors and supporters of the
project.
The Vatican Virgil, a manuscript created in ancient Rome around
400 A.D., contains fragments of Virgil’s Aeneid and Georgics.
Originally, it very likely included all of the canonical works of
the Latin poet. One of the oldest manuscripts in existence today,
it still contains the text of the Aeneid, with 76 surviving leaves
and 50 illustrations. The Folio 22 recto includes an illustration
from the Aeneid that depicts Creusa trying to detain her husband
Aeneas from battle.
NTT DATA joined the Vatican Apostolic Library’s digital
archiving project in April 2014. The project aims to create digital
copies of some 3,000 ancient manuscripts for archiving and sharing
with both scholars and the general public around the world.
“We are honored to use our state-of-the-art technology to help
the Vatican Apostolic Library preserve these irreplaceable cultural
treasures as a legacy for future generations,” said Toshio Iwamoto,
President and CEO of NTT DATA. “NTT DATA will continue to leverage
its digital expertise in support of the arts and academia for the
benefit of future generations.”
“Our library is an important storehouse of the global culture of
humankind,” said Monsignor Cesare Pasini, Prefect of the Vatican
Apostolic Library. “We are delighted the process of digital
archiving will make these wonderful ancient manuscripts more widely
available to the world and thereby strengthen the deep spirit of
humankind’s shared universal heritage.”
“Every donation will be used to support our mission of
preserving the priceless historical manuscripts of the Vatican
Apostolic Library,” said Maite Bulgari, President of Digita
Vaticana. “The reproduction that will be sent to 200 donors will
enable people to understand how digitization and new technologies
can reproduce the actual appearance and the essence of a page from
an ancient manuscript created some 1,600 years ago.”
“We are honored that Canon’s cutting-edge technology is being
used to create the reproductions of this culturally important
document,” said Fujio Mitarai, Chairman and CEO of Canon Inc. “The
process used to create these visually and texturally accurate
reproductions of the 1,600-year-old Vatican manuscript employs our
material appearance image-processing technology to facilitate the
digitization of such material appearance information as color data,
subtle surface contours, and gloss. This information is then
optimally controlled to replicate the material appearance
properties of the original document. Through our technology, Canon
will continue contributing to the development of culture and the
arts.”
The Vatican Apostolic Library and NTT DATA expect to complete
their manuscript-digitization project by March 2018. Individuals
and organizations interested in supporting the project are invited
to visit Digita Vaticana at www.digitavaticana.org.
About the Digital Archiving Project of the Vatican Apostolic
Library
In April 2014, the Vatican Apostolic Library and NTT DATA began
working on the project of digitally archiving manuscripts of the
Library, with plans to digitize approximately 3,000 handwritten
manuscripts by 2018. The Library’s overall project is intended to
digitally archive all manuscripts preserved in the Library,
amounting to some 82,000 manuscripts and 41 million pages.
High-definition images are observable at the Library’s website,
DigiVatLib (http://digi.vatlib.it), using a special viewer built
with NTT DATA’s digital archive solution technology, AMLAD™. On May
17, 2016, the website was renewed to provide access to the
Library’s full archive of digitized manuscripts and incunabula.
DigiVatLib complies with the International Image Interoperability
Framework (IIIF), an open standard for easy access by researchers
worldwide.
About the Vatican Apostolic Library
The Vatican Apostolic Library, also known as the “Popes’
Library,” is located in Vatican City. It was founded by Pope
Nicholas V Parentucelli (1447-1455) in the Palace of Popes. In the
late 16th century it was moved to the Sistine Hall by Pope Sixtus V
Peretti (1585-1590), on the top floor of a new building built to
delimit northward the Belvedere Court. The current seat, which
began with Pope Leo XIII Pecci (1878-1903), includes adjacent
buildings into which the Library was expanded to accommodate
additional acquisitions and donations during its long history. The
Library documents the history and thinking of humankind through
arts and literature, mathematics and science, and law and medicine,
from the early Christian era to the present day. It encompasses
works of numerous languages and cultures ranging from the Far East
to pre-Columbian America. The collection encompasses 82,000
manuscripts, 100,000 archival units, 1.6 million printed books
(including 8,700 incunabula printed before 1501), 400,000 coins and
medals, 100,000 prints, drawings and matrices, and 150,000
photographs.
About Digita Vaticana
Digita Vaticana Onlus is a non-profit organization founded in
2014 to promote the conversion of 82,000 Vatican Library’s
manuscripts into digital format. It conducts fundraising activities
to support this digitization initiative, and it is developing
communication channels to disseminate and articulate the
immeasurable value of these irreplaceable historical documents. For
details, and to book a limited-edition copy of the reproduction,
visit www.digitavaticana.org.
About NTT DATA
NTT DATA (TOKYO:9613) is a leading IT services provider and
global innovation partner headquartered in Tokyo, with business
operations in over 40 countries. Its emphasis is on long-term
commitments, combining global reach with local intimacy to provide
premier professional services varying from consulting and systems
development to outsourcing. The company has been participating in
the Vatican Apostolic Library’s project to digitally archive
irreplaceable manuscripts since March 20, 2014. For more
information, visit www.nttdata.com.
About Canon Inc.
Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ)(TOKYO:7751), headquartered in Tokyo,
Japan, is a leader in the fields of professional and consumer
imaging equipment, information systems and industrial equipment.
Canon’s cooperation with the Vatican Apostolic Library digitization
project is an initiative that is in keeping with the company’s
corporate philosophy of kyosei. In accordance with this philosophy,
Canon carries out a wide range of social contribution activities
with the aim of contributing to a world in which all people live
and work harmoniously together. Visit the Canon Inc. global website
at global.canon.
Notes
AMLAD™ is a domestic trademark of the NTT DATA Corporation.All
other products, corporations and organization names are registered
trademarks or corporate trademarks.
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