Image: Dizionario delle scienze naturali nel quale
si tratta metodicamente dei differenti esseri della natura,
vol. 3: From figure 601 to 900, Florence, V. Batelli e figli, 1847 (Literature and Philosophy Library, ANTICHI BOTANICA 800.066 25.1), fig. 669.
The collection, which includes over 500 volumes, is the historical nucleus of the library endowment in use at the university's ex-Botany Institute, and also includes pieces coming from the library of the university's Botanic Gardens.
The dates of publication span a long period, from the 16th century to the first half of the 20th century. The 16th century works are almost all written on botany and medicine, among which a particular highlight is a magnificent example of De historia stirpium commentarii insignes del medico tedesco Leonhard Fuchs (Basel, Michael Isengrin, 1542), where the text is accompanied by wonderful watercolour engravings.
Also well represented are encyclopaedias and the conception of naturalist museums, which were established in the following century, such as in Dendrologiae naturalis scilicet arborum historiae libri duo by Ulisse Aldrovandi, a work preserved here in a Bolognese 1668 edition published by Ferroni.
There are also many 18th-century publications, including some important works from Linnaeus. Among the publications from the period between 1800 and 1850 are significant contributions to systematic botany. Finally, it is also worth mentioning the numerous publications (from 1803 to 1830) of the successful Farmacopea ferrarese by Antonio Campana, which was translated into many languages.
The collection is found in the Literature and Philosophy Library, in Palazzo Tassoni-Mirogli.
Owners of pieces in the collection
[organisations are preceded by *]
- Amaretti, Francesco
- *Occhi di Luigi fu Gennaro Favai Antique Bookshop
- *Sant'Anna Central Hospital <Ferrara>
- *Sant'Anna Central Hospital <Ferrara> medical library
- Avogadro della Motte, Emiliano <1867-1945>
- Bacher, Anton
- Barotti, Giovanni Andrea
- Beisone, Bernardo
- Beisone, Giacomo
- Bernardini, C.
- *Ariostea Municipal Library
- *Macerata Municipal Library
- *Municipal Library <Verona>
- Bisiga, Giuseppe
- Cammerata <family>
- Campana, Antonio <1751-1832>
- Carletti, Giorgio Aroldo
- Carli, Giuseppe
- Cermenati, Mario
- De_Zigno, Achille
- Fabris, Domenico
- Fano <Family>
- Fantini, Vincenzo
- Ferioli, Angelo
- Gattelli <family>
- *Jesuits <Ferrara>
- Giardini, Virgilio
- Grassi, Paolo
- Grossi, Cleto
- Jachelli, Francesco
- Lanzoni, Giuseppe
- *Giovannoni Bookbinding
- *Forni Bookshop <Bologna>
- *Gigli Bookshop <Rome>
- Magnanini, Alfonso
- Magnoni Trotti, Guido
- Malvisi, Francesco Antonio
- Menini, Cesare
- Olschki, Leo Samuele
- *Botanic Gardens <Ferrara>
- Peruzzi, Agostino
- Pilati, Filippo
- Poletti, Lionello
- Ribotta, Giovanni Battista
- Riminaldi, Giovanni Maria <1732?-1789>
- Santini, Melchiorre
- Soranzo, Liaio
- Strozzi, Carlo Tommaso
- Targioni Tozzetti, Ottaviano
- Tiozzo, Iginio
- *University of Ferrara: Anatomy Institute
- *University of Ferrara: Anatomy Institute: Library
To find out more
University of Ferrara - Botany Institute, Ancient books section (1500-1600-1700) of the Botany Institute Library, edited by G. Rompietti, Ferrara, University of Ferrara, 1983.
University of Ferrara - Botany Institute, Ancient books section (1800-1850) of the library, edited by G. Rompietti, Ferrara, University of Ferrara, 1983.
Filippo Piccoli, Department of Biology: botany section: ‘ancient collection’ library, in Towards a science museum: botanic gardens, museums and historical-scientific collections at the University of Ferrara, edited by Carmela Loriga, «Annals of the University of Ferrara», special volume, 2001, pp. 35-42.
Anna Bernabè, The historical library collection [at the Literature and Philosophy Library] , in Stories of books and palaces. Tours of the Unife libraries, edited by Cristina Baldi and Paola Iannucci, Ferrara, UnifePress, 2021, pp. 286-289.
The collection is kept at the Literature and Philosophy Library.
The volumes that make up the collection are ineligible for external loans, but it is possible to consult them in the library, upon request, made by telephone (+39 0532 293417 - 293123), email (biblioteca.letterefilosofia@unife.it) or through the online catalogue.
Rules for consultation
Regulations for the activities and services of the University of Ferrara Libraries, art. 28
- The consultation of ancient or valuable documents must take place in a dedicated area, controlled by the library.
- Volumes that need restoring are excluded from consultation.
- Users can access only one document for consultation at a time, unless there is a proven need to compare it with other documents.
- Users must diligently comply with the following instructions:
- use the designated bookstands and other equipment in the room made available, in order to protect the documents;
- if the specialised staff consider it necessary, wear the cotton gloves provided;
- if the use of gloves is not considered necessary, handle the documents with clean, dry hands;
- bring only erasable pencils, note paper and a laptop without a case;
- do not make any mark or underline anything, even in pencil, on the documents;
- do not place writing paper or anything else on top of the documents;
- avoid putting pressure on the bindings in order not to damage them;
- do not trace any images (watermarks, drawings, miniatures, bindings);
- if needed, use only flexible tape measures and magnifying glasses;
- in the case of loose or miscellaneous papers, do not alter in any way the order of the documents;
- report any missing items, damages or discrepancies found in the documents consulted to the librarians as soon as possible.
- Users are responsible for the works they are consulting until the moment they are returned. If you are leaving the consultation area, even briefly, the document must be returned.
Until 2010, the collection was kept in Palazzo Turchi di Bagno, where the university's ex-Botany Institute was located, which was the original home of the books.
Following analytical shelf inspections, dusting and cryogenic disinfestation (2009-2010), the collection was transferred to the Literature and Philosophy Library, where a storage area was made available that would guarantee adequate conditions for the conservation and promotion of these ancient and valuable documents.
Starting in 2015, some pieces from the collection underwent conservative restoration, performed by qualified professional conservators, on the basis of projects authorised by the relevant regional authorities.
The cataloguing of the collection in the SBN (National Library Service) was carried out from 2012-2015, and was outsourced to a firm specialising in the cataloguing of ancient books. The technical instructions provided to the cataloguers also included a detailed description of the pieces (handwritten notes, notes on ownership and ex-libris, binding, etc.) and the identification of owners and origin.
The volumes are located in the ANTICHI BOTANICA section of the library where they are kept.
To find out more
Marina Contarini and Anna Bernabè, Protection and enhancement of ancient and valuable collections in the University of Ferrara libraries (2008-2017- ), in Cultural heritage revealed. The university libraries, from teaching to research and new opportunities. Ferrara Round Table, Restoration-Museums Fair, 22 March 2017. Proceedings, edited by Marina Contarini, Anna Bernabè and Maria Grazia Mondini, Ferrara, UnifePress, 2017
With the Art Bonus, you can support projects for ancient book restoration at the University of Ferrara.
Audiovisual
2020 - The historical collections. Literature and Philosophy Library (length: 2 minutes and 45 seconds)
Video in Italian Sign Language (LIS) made thanks to collaboration from the Equal Opportunities and Disability Policy Coordination, the E-Learning and Multimedia Services Office and AIDUS (Association for the Inclusion of Hearing and Deaf People).
2016 - Promoting the treasures of the University of Ferrara - Cataloguing an ancient book (length: 11 minutes and 18 seconds)
This video has been made thanks to cooperation between the University of Ferrara Library System and se@unife (University of Ferrara Centre for Technologies for Communication, Innovation and Distance Learning), and the collaboration of the Emilia-Romagna Institute for Artistic, Cultural and Natural Heritage (IBACN).
Exhibitions
Digitalisation
Guided tours
28 October 2018 - Stories of books and palaces. Inauguration of the tour with the opening of the locations. The students from the 4th year of the "A. Roiti" Science-specialist High School in Ferrara, along with representatives from the University Library System and Museum System, guided visitors around the palaces of the university, libraries and historical collections.
Other
Chiara Beatrice Vicentini and Donatella Mares, From the Hortus Sanitatis to modern pharmacopoeia: through the treasures of the Ferrara libraries, Ferrara, Tosi, 2008, pp. 117-137.
To recommend studies or research projects on the collection or pieces from it, please write to biblioteca.letterefilosofia@unife.it
