THE MUNICIPAL LIBRARY "SCIPIONE GENTILI"
by Pepe Ragoni
The historical documentation testifies the existence of a Library in the place of the Palace of Defense, demolished in the second half of the 19th Century. Transferred to a new emplacement in the Consistoral Palace, ex-convent of the Order of Franciscans T.O.R., it was organized, next to the consistorial historical File at the end of the 19th Century. The Library was again transferred near the Legal Institute "Alberico Gentili" to make place to the offices of the Taxes and the Registry. Between 1970 and 1990 it was replaced in the North wing at the first stage of the Consistorial Palace, where, in a series of contiguous rooms, are kept the books and documents that constitute the patrimony that composes the Library, that’s subdivided in an old section and a modern one.
The old section, called "Allevi Room", includes volumes of the so-called Library of Traditions, a compilation of 4,149 units catalogued by cards, retales, to a large extent, of the dismemberment of the old collections belonging to the religious orders present in San Ginesio, suppressed and expropiated in the successive years to the foundation of the Kingdom of Italy. In a room of the old section, equipped with closed metallic closets, is conserved the fund of the "Cinquecentine", catalogued by Doctor Anna Maria Corbo and lately recovered through a project of conservation carried out thanks to the implication of the joint resources of the counselors for the Cultural Policy of the Province of Macerata and the Public Administration of San Ginesio. Thus, the two handwritten codes of the Statutes of San Ginesio have been recovered both, one in parchment and with letters in miniature, dated in century XIV, and the other one on paper, dated in 1577, and the printed volume Statutorum Terrae Ecclesisticae Sancti Genesii Voulumen, Maceratae apud Sebastianum Martellinum, 1582.
Twenty five metallic windows, donated in 1961 by Doctor Giuseppe to Gentili, includes the other 2,000 parchments that, as it maintained Professor Febo Allevi, "constitute one of the richest patrimonies of central Italy, of almost analogous importance to the parchment dowry of the cisterciense Abbey of Chiaravalle". There’s a registry of this fund, still partially unexplored, created in 1972 by the person in charge, Doctor Bandino Zenobi.
The three handwritten codes of the History of San Ginesio by Marinangelo Severini (1580 cs.) the two contemporary translations of the Majolini and Ciampaglia and the documents conserved in the rich consistorial historical File, constitute the fundamental source for the history of San Ginesio. It turns out, in fact, from the Acts of the Council of 1541 and 1553 that the Council orders to Marozzo and Marinangelo Severini to unfold the history of San Ginesio in the Book of the origins that’s charged to them. Given the interest of the texts, the lousy state of conservation of the pages and the difficulty of the consultations, the library has come to digitize them by means of a joint project of the Province of Macerata - Public Administration of San Ginesio. In the same section are conserved other histories of San Ginesio, the strange edition of the 18th Century of the Cupramontana of San Ginesio of Paolo Morichelli Riccomanni, of which is also conserved the manuscript; both volumes of San Ginesio Illustrata by Telesforo Benigni, of which are conserved the handwritten annotations of the translation of Ciampaglia and three handwritten successive writings of the historical Memories of Sanginesio (Marche) and near territories of Giuseppe Salvi, including the express will of the author that the work remained in property of the Municipality of San Ginesio.
The modern section includes 4,500 units, catalogued in the computer system of the Province of Macerata, and at the public disposal for loan and consultation. In this section deserves a special attention the Fund of Marche that, in addition to innumerable publications of local interest, it includes the Allevi Fund and the Gentili Fund.
Febo Allevi has been a great humanist, historian of Literature, studious of San Ginesio and refined promoter of its artistic and cultural patrimony. The library conserves all his writings, a collection of 50 units, including monographs and books.
The Gentili Fund. Great part of this fund was constituted by the Municipality coinciding with the rediscovery of Alberico Gentili, that took place thanks to the merit of the famous internacionalist Professor Holland of the University of Oxford, in the wave of the euphoria created between the end of the 19th Century and the inauguration of the monument to Gentili in 1908. The municipal Library has the "Cinquecentina", recently recovered by the Disputationes Duae, Hanoviae 1599; the Opera Omnia de Scipione Gentili and the two volumes of the unfinished Opera Omnia of Alberico, both collections grouped by the publisher Gravier of Napoli; the edition of “De Iure Belli” made by Thomas E. Holland; the translation of “Military Law” of Antonio Fiorini; the “Studies” of Giuseppe Speranza, as well as the first edition of the “Picen Antichity” of Giuseppe Colucci with the annotations on Gentili of the old antique dealer Telesforo Benigni. To these and other rare bibliographical sources are added the reproductions in impression of the published work of Gentili, made in collaboration with the International Center of Gentili’s Studies, and with the contribution of the Region of Marche, made available by the Public Administration in 1998.
To Alfonso Leopardi, valuable dialectal poet, tireless and "cultured" consistorial Secretary, protagonist and entertainer of the social and intellectual life of the population of San Ginesio in the thirty successive years to the formation of the Kingdom of Italy, on the occasion of the centenary of his death (2000) the Library has dedicated the publication of the book Sub Tegmine Fagi - (Under a casserole of beans) - Rimes in dialect of Marche 1887-1891, in charge of Sandro Balconcini, Livi Ed. Fermo 1999.
This project reentered in the area of the promotion activity of the knowledge of the goods and the local authors and the public reading. Other similar manifestations organized by the Library have been the day in memory of Febo Allevi, with the presentation to the public of the monograph Liberty and Belle Epoque from the province’s point of view; the evening of the poetry with the presentation to the public of the volume of poetries of Giovanni Falsetti, Coexistence of Poor men; the "conversation" about the public cultural goods of San Ginesio.
The library opens to the public on Tuesday and Thursday, except on holidays. For particular requests it’s advised to contact the City council of San Ginesio. |
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