- Subiaco Press
The
Subiaco Press was aprinting press in Subiaco,Italy . The Press was established in 1464 by the Germanmonk sArnold Pannartz andKonrad Sweinheim in the church ofSanta Scolastica at Subiaco. It was the first printing press in Italy.The first book printed at Subiaco was a Donatus; it has not been preserved. This was followed by Cicero's "
De Oratore " in September 1465 (which is extant - a copy is in the Buchgewerbehaus atLeipzig ). The next book wasLactantius 's "De divinis institutionibus" printed in October 1465. In 1467 Augustine's "The City of God " was printed. These early books are notable for theirtypography . Unlike earlier German books they were not printed inblackletter type. Instead, they were printed in a "half Roman" type, as in Italy there was a desire to use Roman characters. Furthermore, Lactantius's "De divinis institutionibus" contains the world's first Greek printed characters. These were used for the extensive quotations in Greek which employed mobile letters now called "Subiaco type."In 1467 Pannartz and Sweinheim left Subiaco and settled in
Rome .References
* [http://www.catholicity.com/encyclopedia/p/pannartz_and_konrad_sweingeim,arnold.html CatholiCity - Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweinheim]
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