The Historical Archive of the Municipality of Modena has concluded an important project of cataloguing, restoration and digitisation of a documentary fund dedicated to Maria Beatrice d'Este, Queen of England in exile, known as Mary of Modena.

The material, acquired thanks to a grant from the Emilia-Romagna Region, is now freely accessible online on the platform Lodovico Media Librarydeveloped by the Interdepartmental Research Centre on Digital Humanities of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (DHMoRe). The digital resources are integrated with the catalogue descriptions of the Manus and SBN systems, allowing immediate cross-access between images and descriptive data.

The central element of the collection is the autograph account of Francesco Riva, a close collaborator of the Queen and the protagonist of the organisation of her escape from England during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The manuscript offers a direct and intense testimony of one of the most dramatic episodes in seventeenth-century European history.

Autograph letters of Maria Beatrice d'Este, a pass signed by Louis XIV, a rich correspondence between the Riva family and the Stuart court, genealogical materials and portraits related to the dynasty complete the collection.

A project that strengthens Modena's role in the digital enhancement of Europe's historical and cultural heritage.