- The Collection
- Consultation
- Conservation and Cataloguing
- Promotion
- Studies and Research Projects
Image: Juan De Valverde, Anatome corporis humani, Venice, Eredi di Lucantonio Giunta, 1607 (Literature and Philosophy Library, ANTICHI MEDICINA 05.05), c. E2r.
The collection is made up of around 350 volumes and consists of the historical nucleus of the library endowment in use at the university's ex-Anatomy Institute.
The volumes, whose dates of publication date predominantly from between the 16th and 19th centuries, show evidence of the development of medical science - and in particular the disciplines related to anatomy - over the centuries. Specifically, there are essays in the collection of primary interest to those working in the Medicine and Art Faculties of the University of Ferrara, as demonstrated by the presence of Examen omnium simplicium medicamentorum di Antonio Musa Brasavola (Venice, Vincenzo Valgrisi, 1539).
The collection includes works dedicated to particular problems and sectors of study, such as the preservation of anatomical parts, teratology and pathological anatomy: evidence of this is the presence of Epistolae anatomicae duae di Giovanni Battista Morgagni (Leiden, Johannes van Kerckhem, 1728).
There are numerous treatises and atlases of normal anatomy, among which are large-format editions that collect together illustrated plates, such as Icones anatomicae by Leopoldo Marco Antonio and Floriano Caldani (1801-1814). Finally, the techniques used for anatomical research are also well-documented, for example in Trattato di antropotomia by Angelo Dubini (Milan, Molina, 1837) and Cours de microscopie by Alfred Donné (Paris, Baillière, 1844).The collection is found in the Literature and Philosophy Library, in Palazzo Tassoni-Mirogli.
Owners of pieces in the collection
To find out more
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
Until 2010, the collection was kept in the complex now known as the Old Biology Institutes, where the university's ex-Anatomy 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 from 2014, some pieces from the collection have undergone restoration ( list of volumes), 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 MEDICINA section of the library in which they are kept.
To find out more
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 - Anatomy for use and intelligent design: The story of a restoration (length: 10 minutes and 40 seconds)
2016 - Promoting the treasures of the University of Ferrara - Cataloguing an ancient book (length: 11 minutes and 18 seconds)
These videos have 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) and Franco Antolini's Restauro Libri firm (Ferrara).
Exhibitions
Digitalisation
Guided tours
Other
Aloisio Antinori, La collaboration entre scientifiques et artistes pour la réalisation de traités d’anatomie, [conference speech] L’Art de la collaboration au Grand Siècle / The Art of Collaboration in Seventeenth-Century France (Princeton University, 10-12 May 2018)
To recommend studies or research projects on the collection or pieces from it, please write to biblioteca.letterefilosofia@unife.it