The University Library's acquisitions (1729-1826)

Transcriptions by Simona Re Fiorentin

In 2011, as part of the events promoted for the celebration of the 150 years of the Unification of Italy and thanks to the contribution of the Compagnia di San Paolo, the grandiose show The theater of all sciences and arts: manuscripts, books, prints and drawings, belonging to the collections of the State Archives, the National University Library and the Royal Library, were chosen to outline the different cultural orientations that followed one another in the Savoy state, from the time of Emanuele Filiberto to 1861.

The progressive was chosen as the main key to the construction of the exhibition itinerary acquisition of the works intended to train the ruling class, to support government activity and to nourish the culture of sovereigns. To this end, preliminary research and analysis work on archive documents was indispensable, allowing not only to promptly date thousands of purchases of volumes and collections, but also to bring to light places of origin, booksellers, intermediaries, collectors, involved in various capacities.

Since the current National Library was founded in 1720 as a University Library and became an independent institute only in 1876, an important contribution came from what survives of the series of Payment orders preserved in the University's historical archives.

Published here are the records of the purchases of manuscripts and books, selected by the Archive staff from thousands of pages of accounting records and carefully transcribed and commented by Simona Re Fiorentin. For easier reading, we recommend that you read the notes for consultation.