Nr. 4, November-December 2017

he true joy which is experienced in the family is not something random

and fortuitous. It is a joy produced by deep harmony among people, which

allows them to savour the beauty of being together, of supporting each other

on life’s journey.

Happy Holidays

Pope Francis

The Architect Marco Petreschi has established a friendly relationship with the Vatican Apostolic Li-brary, to which he has recently donated a collection of his own drawings, destined for the General Drawings Collection. Within the group of drawings, we can find designs for an underground library that drew its inspi-ration from the Piranesi style, as well as different archi-tectural projects that stimulate the imagination of even an untrained observer.

Professor Petreschi, an academic in Composition-al Architecture in Rome as well as abroad, is a visiting professor and guest lecturer at several universities in America and Europe. It has been said that he is “an author, who, heedless of the trends in style that have traversed Italy in recent decades, has unflinchingly fol-lowed his own path, a path that may be characterized as ironical in its attitude towards current affairs and their claims to power, physical in his affectionate rela-tionship with materials and techniques to master them, subject to design as a complete and aesthetic control of space, never indifferent to history but careful to create a proper distance from it” (L. Molinari, 2007).

The architectural proposals of Marco Petreschi are the fruit of a journey undertaken along the roads which span across history; the artisan identifies himself with the eras that he visits, and continues to put on the “dress” of each. The artist explains: “The architectural masks that I wear, which I put on while I draw, are use-ful to me every time I feel the need to exorcise con-straining circumstances that would limit the creativity of my work. This is a true means of escape from the op-pressive mentality of materialism and speculative eco-nomics. I do everything I can so as not to drown from the boredom, the indifference or the cynicism that pervade our society on a major scale.” His technical expertise blends with both imagination and elements from his strong personal sensitivity, on a journey that produces vivid, engaging and attractive “sights.”

Architectural “Masks” in the Library

he art piece, “Another View of the Temple of Sybil” (c. 1760) by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), stored in the Ashby Collection (Ashby Stampe Cartella Piranesi 15 (19)), has just been restored thanks to the contribu-tion of Ars Graphica of Rome. This international associa-tion dedicated to culture, aims to create alliances among art historians specialized in prints and drawings, in order to encourage the exchange of ideas, and in particular, to promote the graphic arts as an opportunity for such ex-changes on the scientific and methodological level.

This work, which is among the ones that the artist made to represent the monument of the ancient city of Tibur, is part of the great series the “Views of Rome”, which Piranesi began to etch during the second half of the 1740s, and which he continued to embellish in subse-quent years by including the illustrations of monuments outside of Rome, as in this case. Together with the series of the “Prisons”, this piece represents the most famous and well-known work ever produced by the artist.

The print, which showed mechanical damages in the margins, as well as tears and holes of various sizes, re-ceived a mechanical cleaning; the tears were mended and the margins reconstructed with thin layers of tissue and paper of the appropriate color and thickness. Sub-sequently, it was flattened with light weights, after being slightly moistened. Thanks to this process, the print has now returned to its former glory.

Piranesi’s “Another View of the Temple of the Sybil” has been Restored

A Virtual Catalogue for Ancient Flemish Prints

The Belgian Academy and the Dutch Institute of Rome are promoting an international project begun on September 1st, Early modern prints from the Low Countries in Italian collections: A virtual catalogue, with the objective of creating a virtual catalogue of Renaissance and Baroque prints from the Nether-lands kept in Italian collections. The catalogue aims to provide a useful tool for researchers interested in the artistic exchange that began at the time of the Renaissance between Italy and the Netherlands. The project has already begun with the composition of an inventory formatted in Excel; at a later date, the collected data will be arranged in an online database to be improved as the project progresses, with the contributions and participation of the various insti-tutions involved.

The Apostolic Library was one of the first institu-tions to join this initiative, along with the Angelica Library and the Casanatense Library. In 2017, from September to December, Belgian art historian So-phie Suykens compiled an inventory of 546 prints preserved in five volumes (Prints V. 107-111).

The works described belong to the Library’s Fon-do Antico, the precious collection established dur-ing the pontificate of Pius VI Braschi (1775-1799), and containing over 17,000 prints by artists from the 15th to the 18th centuries, bound in 161 volumes, thirty of which represent the “Flemish School”.

The volumes in the inventory include engravings from the designs of Maarten de Vos (1532-1603), Jan van der Straet (1523-1605), Hans Vredeman de Vries (1527-c. 1604), Paul Bril (1554-1626), Piet-er Stevens (c. 1567-1624?) and Pieter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Other engravers and editors present in these volumes include: Hieronymus Cock, Crispijn van de Passe, the Doetecum brothers and members of the Collaert, Sadeler, Galle and Wierix families.

The project will take several years to be complet-ed, but this first phase has already produced good results along with small “discoveries” related to the composition of the collection itself. It is appropriate to say, according to the wisdom of Horace, “he who has begun has the work half done”.

Aegidius Sadeler, after the invention of Paul Bril, “November and December,” 1615. Stampe V. 110 (61)

“The Bible, Images and Writing in the Vatican Apostolic Library”

A book entitled Bibbia, immagini e Scrittura nella Bib-lioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Bible, Images and Writing in the Vatican Apostolic Library), edited by Ambrogio Piaz-zoni, Vice-Prefect of the Library, has just been published by the Jaca Book press. The book was written on the sub-ject of the Bibles that are stored in the collections of the Vatican Apostolic Library.

The Vatican Library possesses many editions of the Bi-ble, both in manuscript form and print copies. The most ancient manuscript is the Papyrus Hanna 1, made in the late 2nd/early 3rd century (180-220 C.E.), which consti-tutes the oldest copy of the Gospels according to Luke and John. The most recent copy in our collection is a beautiful Bible produced by Donald Jackson and arranged in seven largely sized volumes, by which the English New Revised Standard translation has been transcribed and preserved in a splendid facsimile edition.

The oldest print edition is the first edition of the Bible published by Johann Gutenberg in Magonza, just after the middle of the 15th century. The Library possesses two cop-ies of that Bible, one of which is made of parchment. The most recent edition (without considering digital copies) was made in 2017: it is an analogical version of the New Vulgate, the official Latin translation for liturgical use in the Catholic Church.

The first part of the book focuses on the oldest copies of the text and the widespread circulation of the Bible in var-ious cultures; the second part recounts the often extroar-dinarily beautiful productions of the sacred texts made from Medieval times up to the Renaissance; the third and last part presents the forms and the particular uses of the biblical text from the versions made for readings in Chris-tian liturgy, and the small-sized books used for study and preaching.

The Vaticana at the Inauguration of the Museum of the Bible in Washington

On November 16th, the Museum of the Bible was in-augurated in Washington D.C., with 40,000 objects dis-played on eight floors, 430,000 squared meters – a muse-um of truly “biblical” proportions.

The Prefect of the Apostolic Library, Msgr. Cesare Pasini, participated in the event, and diverse documents from the Vatican Library were loaned for a temporary exhibition. Within the museum, there is a section called “Vatican Treasures,” an exhibit showcasing pieces from the Vatican Library, which for one year will host some significant of its documents, namely the Barb. lat. 587, and the monumental volumes of the Urbino Bible, Urb. lat. 1-2.

The Apostolic Library is also featured in another ex-hibition called “The Boundless Vanity of All: Ecclesiastes, Images and Ideas,” with six prints of Giovanni Battista Pi-ranesi on display.

To enter the museum, visitors cross the threshold ofthe gigantic “Doors of Gutenberg”, which are decorated

with written quotations from the Book of Genesis, sculpted in bronze. The journey thus begins on a path to discover the biblical world in all of its possible man-ifestations; given the museum’s breadth, this path could last for days and ends with a magnificent view from the terrace, featuring a garden full of splendid plants that are (serendipitously) biblical.

Sixty Years After the Death of the “Great Old Man”Sixty years ago, Giovanni Mercati (1866-1957) passed

away. Mercati was a “doctor” of the Ambrosian Library, then “writer” and Prefect (1919-1936) of the Vatican Li-brary, and finally, Cardinal Librarian of the Holy Roman Church (1936-1957). He was affectionately called the “Great Old Man” in the Library.

He is considered to be one of the great scholars of his time, a restless soul with a manner that was simple and vigorous, but warm at the same time, whose inner varie-gation found its synthesis through a good and generous heart.

«Imposing in his black cassock, which was not worn any less for being under the bright splendor of Roman purple» (N. Vian, 1986), Card. Mercati was -and still re-mains- a model for librarians and much more.

His meticulous studies on manuscripts, reworked time and time again, such that it was difficult for him to let go of them, as they never really seemed ready to go to press, won him the respect of his colleagues and pres-tige in the academic world. Though he was sometimes brusque, he was also particularly esteemed for the pro-found humanity that always characterized his manner over the many years he spent in the Library.

He came to the Vatican Library during the prefecture of Franz Ehrle (1895-1914), in the phase of moderniza-tion of the Institution. It did not thrill him when, as Pre-fect of the Library, he himself had to implement profound changes in the institutional organization during the peri-od of collaboration with the American world, between 1927 and 1947. However, he understood the usefulness of these initiatives and was ever disposed to do his part for the common good, for the sake of research and scholars.

Gifted with the reflection of a scholar and the activi-ty of a leader, Mercati dedicated himself without reserve to the situation when the racial laws came into effect in 1938. He did all he could to help many Jewish scholars: he welcomed some into the Library, and helped others to leave so as to find a new life overseas.

A man of few words, he was inclined to follow strict rules scrupulously, and with increasing firmness with the passing of years. He had a delicate touch, especially with children, as shown in a letter to a group of young students who had sent him congratulation letters on the occasion of having been appointed cardinal (dated June 7, 1936). The letter, published but not very well-known, is still valid today:

“My little friends, indeed my dearest brothers in Jesus, your quite unexpected letters have pleased me greatly, because of the delicate innocence that is typical of your age. Your good teacher suggested that you write me so that, thinking about my situation would bring you to make good resolutions. I also was a young schoolboy like you, and a country schoolboy at that, from Gaida. Not rich, nor extraordinarily gifted, like many of you, perhaps;

yet, through constant study and scrupulous honesty, de-spite the usual weaknesses, little by little, without seeking it, I have been elevated to some of the most esteemed offic-es and dignities of the earth, and -what counts the most- I hope to reach the happiness of heaven, by the grace of God, who is infinitely merciful and generous with all his children, especially those of good will who serve and love him.

Thus, in proportion to your own vocation and to your response to this vocation, it will be up to each of you, dear ones, if you will to act and do it seriously. Above all, may you have the right intention in every one of your actions: never do things for base reasons, but work for the good, out of deference for God and for the love of God, sincerely, generously, without ever be carried away by the easy temp-tations of laziness, forbidden pleasures, pride, envy, jeal-ousy, or any other passion. In this way you will guarantee your true temporal and eternal happiness.

In the second place, never waste time, which passes rapidly, never to return. It is bitterly regretted in vain as soon as one understands its incomparable value.

In the third place, always do what you have to do im-mediately and in the best way possible: do not wait until the desire to do something come on its own, and do not pull it off quickly, lousily, thinking you can gain something by dauntless speed and quantity, rather than by quality. Things done badly bear little fruit, or no fruit at all, and often have to be redone; whereas he who takes the habit of doing things well, will succeed even when there is less time or when it is less convenient. Empty appearances can deceive the less intelligent for a while, but they will soon be

A cradle songby William Blake (1757-1827)

Sweet dreams form a shade,O’er my lovely infants head.Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,By happy silent moony beams

Sweet sleep with soft down.Weave thy brows an infant crown.Sweet sleep Angel mild,Hover o’er my happy child.

Sweet smiles in the night,Hover over my delight.Sweet smiles Mothers smiles,All the livelong night beguiles.

Sweet moans, dovelike sighs,Chase not slumber from thy eyes,Sweet moans, sweeter smiles,All the dovelike moans beguiles.

Sleep sleep happy child,All creation slept and smil’d.Sleep sleep, happy sleep.While o’er thee thy mother weep

Sweet babe in thy face,Holy image I can trace.Sweet babe once like thee.Thy maker lay and wept for me

Wept for me for thee for all,When he was an infant small.Thou his image ever see.Heavenly face that smiles on thee,

Smiles on thee on me on all,Who became an infant small,Infant smiles are His own smiles,Heaven & earth to peace beguiles.

discovered for what they really are and they will fail.If you work as I am telling you to do so, and for that

matter, as it has always been taught by the wise, you will make your fortune, by becoming, each in his own way, ex-cellent, successful citizens, such as the kind that our heav-enly Homeland seeks and hires when he sees them: the loafers, the incompetent, the dealers are a disgrace to it.

Do not forget, however, that in the long and complex work of your integral formation -religious, moral, civil- your parents, your good teachers, your spiritual fathers and all your other superiors will be a great help to you if you listen to them as you should, as they only seek your own true good. You are quite new to life, actually, and you are about to go into a place that is like a dense, uncivilized forest, or an unknown territory.

Your elders have already passed through and con-quered this territory and have learned, through their pai-

ns, perhaps, which paths are good ones, and which ones, difficult and dangerous. If you listen to them, you will immediately get on the right path, on the safe and better path, without effort and without risk of irreparable and fatal errors. Otherwise, you’ll go off on an adventure and lose a great deal of time, and also, very easily, you will lose the right path, ending up in disaster and ruin (which God does not want). Therefore, listen to those who truly love you and who feel, before God and man, the tremen-dous responsibility of your complete formation and thus, of your happiness in time and in eternity.

My dear ones, I will not see your success here on earth, but I can guarantee that you will attain it if you mind the advice of this old man, who does not know you by sight, but who nonetheless loves you in God and invokes every blessing from God on you and on all your loved ones, as well as on your good teachers and superiors.”

special thanks to Sr. Maria Panagía Mi-ola, of the Congregation of the Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará,

for the valuable help she is offering the Apostolic Library with the metadata insertion relative to our Greek manuscripts published online, and not only that.

The Servants of the Lord and the Virgin of Matará constitute the female branch of the Institute of the Incarnate Word, founded in Argentina by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela in 1984, which includes priests, reli-gious sisters, as well as religious brothers of apostolic and contemplative life.

According to their Constitutions (5), the Insti-tute invests all its strength “to inculturate the Gos-pel, that is, to extend the Incarnation ‘to all men, in the whole man and in all the manifestations of man’ (John Paul II), in accordance with the teachings of the Magisterium of the Church.”

Fr. Buela founded the female branch of the Con-gregation in 1988, likewise with the intention of fol-lowing Jesus through the profession of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

To all the Servidoras sisters, and in particular to the Superior General, Mother María Corredentora Rodríguez, we wish to express our gratitude for the possibility that has been offered to Sr. Maria Panagía to participate in some of the activities of the Library, with her grace and energy, in perfect adherence to the charism of her Congregation.

View of the Jehol imperi-al Villa (1714). Copperplate engraving by Matteo Ripa (1682-1746), who brought the engraving technique of copperplate engraving to China for making pictures and maps. The volume, Barb. or. 147, which con-tains 36 Views of the Jehol imperial Villa, was recently restored by the staff of the Conservation Department, thanks to the donation of Mr. Edwind Mok from Hong Kong. The conserva-tion work that was carried out included suturing tears, filling in gaps, and applying pieces of tissue paper to re-inforce certain parts. The engravings have been digi-tized and are now available online (digi.vatlib.it).

- Ars Graphica- Borri S.p.A.- Dedanext S.r.l - Dedagroup S.p.A.- Digita Vaticana Onlus- Gladis Krieble Delmas Foundation- Heydar Aliyev Foundation- IAPS-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziale, Roma- INAF-Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica- Von Mallinckrodt Foundation- NTT Data- Panduit Corporation- Polonsky Foundation- Samuel H. Kress Foundation - Metis Systems- Sanctuary of Culture Foundation- Seret S.p.A.- Stiftelsen Konung Gustav VI Adolfs- Stiftelsen Marcus och Amalia Wallenbergs Minnesfond- Fritz Thyssen Stiftung- Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg

- Alan Baron- Åke Bonnier - Laura Cretara- Simona Giampaoli e familiari- Angelo Grilli - Frank Hanna- Warren Kirkendale- Edwin Mok- Pierino Monassi- Chiara e Giovanna Montauti- Mariastella Pellicioli Lorioli- Paolo Portoghesi- Francesco Parisi- Marco Petreschi- Bill Teuber- Patrizio Turi- Scott & Lannette Turicchi- Luciana e Francesco Varisco- Paola Veroi- Bruna Volpi Fumagalli

Thank you

A manuscript

digitized in November and published on: digi.vatlib.it Barb. lat. 4357, f. 3v-4r

Wishing Well ...

The Gems of the Vatican Medal CollectionThe Vatican Medal Collection is one of the treasures of the Apostolic Library. Like the

Papal Library, and with its own distinction, it contains a set of composites, a collection of collections, whose purpose is to offer both the scholar and the inquisitive person what has been produced as a means of exchange and communication throughout the centuries, long before the birth of Christ. The coins represented originate from East to West: ranging from Punic, Chinese, Carthaginian, Roman, Italian and European coins, to modern conii. There is also a series of precious medal collections in splendid form, and in particular the papal one.

It is not widely known that besides the collections of coins and medals, lead med-als, plaques, seals and engraved stones, the Vatican Medal Collection also includes col-lections of casts that have been preserved. Particularly noteworthy is the group crafted by the Roman engraver of Austrian descent, Luigi Pichler (1773-1854), who worked on casts during the period from 1819 to 1820 for the Emperor of Austria, Francis I, who intended to offer it as a gift for Pope Pius VII.

In 1795, as he began a trip to Vienna, Pichler was able to carry out a series of works for the nobility of the city. He returned to Florence in 1808 and, with a letter of presentation written by the sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822), proceeded to Prince Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700-1760), who was already familiar with some works of the engraver and appreciated it. On his second trip to Austria, he was able to meet the emperor and was appointed member of the Fine Arts Academy of Vienna; the same hon-or would be granted to him a few years later by the Academy of San Luca (1812) and later by the Academies of Florence (1831), Milan (1839) and Venice (1844).

The emperor had hoped that the artist would remain in Vienna, but Pichler de-cided to return to Rome. In 1818, when Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859) asked him to move to Vienna on behalf of the emperor himself, Pichler could not refuse. In the Austrian capital, Pichler created reproductions of the cameos and gems of the Im-perial Museum using sulfur and glass, which turned out to have exactly the same appear-ance as the originals, even down to the color streaks. He himself brought the mahogany cabinet containing replicas of the 595 precious and famous works to Rome, and then re-turned to Vienna where he taught his own art to students eager to learn from the famous master.

Gregory XVI awarded him the title of Knight of St. Gregory the Great in 1839, and in 1842, that of the Order of Saint Nicholas. By his own request, he was then able to return to Rome, for he wanted “to close his eyes, where he had for the first time opened them to the light.” He arrived in 1850.

Other casts of the Viennese collection had been made earlier, but with less pre-cious materials than those donated to Pius VII. This collection proves particularly val-uable in that it is unique: the molds were destroyed to prevent other copies from being made, and many of the originals that had been preserved in Vienna were destroyed dur-ing World War II.

Over time, Pichler’s work, which was in part experimental, has been damaged by atmospheric agents and environmental conditions that have not been favorable to preser-vation, some irreparably so. Recently there was a restoration of some of his works whose settings in gold metal showed a blue-greenish oxidation that put the reproductions at risk. Thanks to the contribution of Alan Baron of Numismatica Genevensis, the Forlenza company of Rome has carried out projects of conservation for 64 settings chosen from the ones in the worst conditions. Since the oxidizing process of the metal continues to develop, we hope that the other settings will also be able to be restored in the near future, at best, through new and spirited efforts.

Artist: Luigi PichlerNumber of items in the collection: 595Date of production: 1819-1820Material: sulfur and glass; metal

Items to be treated: 171State of conservation: blue-greenish oxidation damagesConservation treatments: removal of the gems from the frames; degreasing with ultra-sounds or, vapour; electric and iron oxid brushing; welding when necessary and rrepositioning of the gems in the frames; goldening of the framesCost: 8,800 USD

Rp. Pichler. V. (int. 327)

Rp. Pichler. V. (int. 327) restored

Wishing Well ...

Cataloging the “Vaticani latini”The vaults of the Vatican Apostolic Library contain many collections or libraries,

which arrived at the Vatican in the form of gifts or purchases, beginning from the 17th century onward. For instance, the Palatine Collection (1622-1623) arrived from Heidelberg; the Urbino Collection (1657), the library of Duke Federico di Montefeltro, arrived from Urbino; the Reginense Collection (1690) is the library that belonged to Christine, Queen of Sweden. Most of the “libraries” carry the names of the previous owners, such as Chigiani, Barberini, Rossiani, Ottoboniani, Borghesiani, Boncom-pagni, Ferrajoli, and many others.

The oldest and largest collection of manuscripts in the Vatican Apostolic Library is the Vaticani Collection, whose contents are identified according to the alphabets or languages in which the documents are written: Latin, Greek, Syriac, Armenian, Coptic, Arabic, Hebrew, Ethiopic, Indian, Persian, Slavic, Turkish, and others. There is also the Vaticani musicali, a collection of musical manuscripts.

Printed inventories and catalogues of the collections have been published over the years, but many manuscripts are still without full descriptions. Cataloguing the man-uscripts is a rigorous task which requires a long period of time accomplish properly. Many codices contain several texts, sometimes in different languages or written over different periods of time. Small portions of them are normally selected and described in order to have up-to-date repertories available to the scholars. Within the collection of the Vaticani latini (made up of almost 16,000 manuscripts) are large portions of manuscripts that remain to be described. This unique work of description requires many specific types of expertise as well as abundant patience from the scriptores, the scholarly staff of the Library qualified to carry out such a demanding task.

The scholarly staff of the Vatican Apostolic Library is made up of very few people who are involved in many activities. They publish catalogues from time, which normally take years to be completed. This work can become faster and easier if temporary collaborators help the scholarly staff in carrying out this task.

A scriptor has undertaken the study and the cataloguing of a group of Vaticani latini from Vat. lat. 4261 to Vat. lat. 4330. Presently about 30% of this work is about to be finished; 30% is ready to be carried out, and the rest has yet to be undertaken. These manuscripts belong mostly to the Medieval and Humanistic periods (in addition to a few from the 16th century). From the study that has already been accomplished, we have gained much new information. There has been the discovery of some ancient autographs and some unknown ancient text, such as a comment on the Song of Songs dating back to the beginning of the 11th century, and of some unknown copies of manuscripts, in particular those from the Patristic era. The time has arrived to give a definitive form to the work so as to produce a printed edition of the catalogue.

The Vatican Apostolic Library would like a well prepared young scholar coming from the Vatican School to be involved in the project. The work consists in checking and completing the extant records, so that, under the guidance of the scriptor, the person may complete the rest of the descriptions and add them to the manuscript database. The completed work will then be published in the Series Maior of the printed catalogues of the Library. Moreover, the project could be particularly significant from another point of view in that it would provide a young researcher trained in the fields of codicology, philology and Latin paleography, the opportu-nity to learn from experienced staff, advance in his knowledge of research tasks, and make a descriptive synthesis of the manuscripts.

We are now seeking grants for this initial project which we hope will be followed by others, as to make the manuscripts of the Vatican Apostolic Library more accessible for study and dissemination of knowledge.

Collection: Vat. lat. 4261-4330Number of items: 69Date: 5th-15th cent.

Work phases: - Checking the work already pre-pared;- Complete extant records;- Description of the remaining part according to the leges.

Staff involved: 1 young scholar trained by scholarly staff of the Library Time needed: Three years Total cost: 47,000 USD

Vat. lat. 4204, f. 48v-49r

Vat. lat. 4258, f. 1r

Wishing Well ...

The “Avvisi”, a unique group within the manuscript collections

The Vatican Apostolic Library possesses many “Avvisi” or “Communications” among its

collections. These documents are brief news reports on what took place in a specific place, and are grouped together in the form of “menanti” (“leading news”) or “novellanti” (“news-tellers”) which served agents to prepare dispatches to the courts or to important persons interested in knowing what was happening in the major European cities.

According to the Venetian ambassador Michele Soriano (16th cent.), the word “menanti” essentially referred to agents who collected the local gossip going around cities regarding the cur-rent political, economic, cultural and social life. Sometimes the agents worked together in a small “drafting room” and then sent their reports to personal clients. On the other hand, the “Avvisi” were printed and sold to several people. For this reason, the “Avvisi” are considered to be one of the first expressions of journalism, and the first attempts to create public opinion. This journalistic devise served powerful political leaders to control the spreading of gossip or bad news , as the “menanti” would try to gain the support of their often powerful customers.

It seems that the Fugger family was the first to use the system of the “Avvisi” in Italy. They collected news about Venice from 1562 and 1572 and then communicated it to Augsburg. An affinity to a similar Medieval approach may be seen here.

The use of this system spread from Venice to Rome, where it was employed by the agents of the dukes of Urbino to counteract the “menanti” news broadcasted to their customers. Thus were created the “Avvisi di Roma”, “Avvisi di Venezia” and so on. The network of information grew to a continental scale, thereby including the major European libraries (Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Wien, Barcelona, Bruxelles, Antwerpen, Avignon, etc.). The “Avvisi” provide a faithful representa-tion of daily life from the religious, political, diplomatic, economic, and artistic sectors of society in most important European cities between the 16th and 18th centuries. Unlike the diplomatic reports, like the famous ones from the Venetian ambassadors, the “Avvisi” present a daily and almost “popular” perspective on facts, as there is a great attention to the small and overlooked news and to details not considered by other observers.

The biggest and best known collection of “Avvisi” in the Vatican Apostolic Library is that of the dukes of Urbino (Urb. lat. 1038-117, 1704, 1727). The collection arrived at the Vatican Apostolic Library with the Urbino Library in 1657. In addition, “Avvisi” are also found in other collections in the Library, often coming from families such as the Barberini, Chigi, Ottoboni, i.e., codices Barb. lat. 3520-3525, 3538, 3573, 6341, 6343-6345, 6373-6374, 6376, 6380-6381, 6383-6386, 6388-6389, 6417, 7053, 9837-9838; Cappon. 29; Chig. O.III.35-O.III.37; Ott. lat. 2445, 2449-2450, 2458-2459, 3337-3363. To date, there is not yet a comprehensive list.

The “Avvisi”, especially the Roman ones, have been largely used over the years by many schol-ars. But, it is quite conceivable that most of the rich information of those documents is far from being adequately utilized.

The project “Avvisi” aims to procure that the “Avvisi”, documents that are in the Vatican man-uscript collections be digitized and posted on the web, starting with the Urbino collection. Because these manuscripts often have serious conservation problems, mostly due to the metal gall ink used in the documents, the digitization has to be accompanied or preceded by a conservation program.

The first step will include treatment of the the group of manuscripts, Urb. lat. 1038-1117, 1704, 1727.

Collection: Urb. lat. 1038-1117, 1704, 1727Number of items: 82 manuscriptsDate: 16th-18th cent.

Work to be done:Conservation treatment and digitization on the manuscripts (the number of folios of each man-uscript varies from 500 to 800)

Work phases: - Conservation treatment of the manuscripts reinforcing the dam-aged pages Cost: 175,000 USD- Digitization of the manuscripts Cost: 625,000 USD

Urb. lat. 1048, f. 83r

To learn more about special projects and opportunities

to support the Library, please contact:Luigina Orlandi

Office of Institutional Advancement (orlandi@vatlib.it)