コデックス・セラフィニアヌス (ラテン語: Codex Seraphinianus) とは、イタリアの芸術家（絵画、デッザン、ブロンズ彫刻、陶器などを手がける）、建築家にして工業デザイナーであるルイジ・セラフィーニが、1976年から1978年の間に30ヵ月掛けて、解読能な文章と図版を書き上げた本である[1]。本はおよそ360ページの長さであり（版によって異なる）、未知の世界について、その世界の言語の1つである（少なくとも我々にとって）意味不明なアルファベットで書かれた百科事典のような外見をしている。初版は1981年、フランコ・マリア・リッチ出版社より発行され、現在流通している版は、2013年、リッツォーリ出版社より発行されたものである。コデックス・セラフィニアヌスは、ある報告によれば、シュールレアリスムとファンタジーとの不安定な境界線にある本だ。イタリア人アーティスト、ルイージ・セラフィーニによって書かれたこの本は、別世界の百科事典とされている。セラフィーニ自身が作りだした言葉によって書かれ、カラーの奇妙なイラストがいたるところに描かれている。まつ毛を備えた人間の目玉に似た魚や、安全ピンでいっぱいの血を流したフルーツや、海に浮遊した巨大なオイスターの貝殻に包み込まれた都市などがある。Abe Booksに載っているページに従い、暗号理論者は番号付けシステムを解読することを試みたが、この言葉は判読できないことが証明された。
An extraordinary and surreal art book, this edition has been redesigned by the author and includes new illustrations. Ever since the Codex Seraphinianus was first published in 1981, the book has been recognized as one of the strangest and most beautiful art books ever made. This visual encyclopedia of an unknown world written in an unknown language has fueled much debate over its meaning. Written for the information age and addressing the import of coding and decoding in genetics, literary criticism, and computer science, the Codex confused, fascinated, and enchanted a generation. 

While its message may be unclear, its appeal is obvious: it is a most exquisite artifact. Blurring the distinction between art book and art object, this anniversary edition-redesigned by the author and featuring new illustrations-presents this unique work in a new, unparalleled light. With the advent of new media and forms of communication and continuous streams of information, the Codex is now more relevant and timely than ever. 
Review“…the book really does live up to its reputation: The drawings are in turn hilarious, disturbing, bizarre and, sometimes, just flat-out incomprehensible, but all of them are annotated in Serafini’s script.” -Dangerous Minds
 
“It’s not the sort of thing that easily lends itself to classification, but probably the most accurate way to describe it would be as an encyclopedia of an invented alien civilization…the Codex is still a disorienting and provocative vision of inscrutable otherness.” -Slate.com
 
“Codex Seraphinianus is an art book in the most direct sense—there are big, beautiful drawings accompanied by indecipherable letterforms--and it is impossible to “read” in a literal way. The text has remained a mystery all these years, and perhaps that’s part of its draw as an art object.” -FineBooks Magazine

“Is the best art book of the year one that is not only impossible for me to review, but one that is probably equally impossible for you to understand? It’s a handsome, hilarious and enduring puzzle that not only features wonderful art in it, but in its entirety captures another kind of human creativity—the encyclopedia, the result of compiling and collecting, and an unlikely medium for artists.” -North Adams Transcript

"Codex Seraphinianus: History’s Most Bizarre and Beautiful Encyclopedia, Brought Back to Life...a weird and wonderful masterpiece of art and philosophical provocation on the precipice of the information age....Undoubtedly one of the most intricate and beautiful art books ever created." -Brain Pickings

“Wow. One of the strangest and most beautiful books ever published.” Faerie Tales
 
“Codex Seraphinianus is in a sense the most elaborate book of doodles ever made. What makes it much more than that is not just the quality of Serafini’s drawings and the superior book-making craft, but its brilliant structure. Part of the genius of the Codex is that there is enough information to be familiar but not enough to make any sense.” Spectrum Culture
 
“The intense strangeness of Codex Seraphinianus belies the joyous feel of the artistry. Even the oddest, most unnerving images are rendered with pastel beauty, and a softness that makes them almost endearing.” KQEDノークレーム、ノーリターンでお願いします。No Claim and No return.
御興味を持っていただき誠にありがとうございます。