ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTION
Characteristic of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was an encyclopedic view of culture, which was also embodied in the creation of collections both private and accessible to the general public, consisting of objects of historical-artistic, archaeological and scientific interest, as well as natural and exotic curiosities.
Equally traceable to this context was the activity of the Dominican fathers of S. Maria sopra Minerva, who pursued the goal of increasing the bibliographic holdings of the Casanatense Library and at the same time enriching its collections in a museum-like sense. The latter intent would be promoted, in particular, by a few individual prefects who had distinguished themselves among all others by showing a personal attraction to the collection of ancient artifacts and artifacts.
The Library, founded in 1701, was born in a topographical context and at a time in history when everything seemed to be permeated by the archaeological rediscovery of Rome, to reveal its ancient and glorious past. Probably, in connection with this period of great ferment and when collecting reached its peak, the desire to create a collection of archaeological artifacts within the Casanatense collections may have arisen. Here appear, then, bucchero artifacts, witnesses of that Etruscan culture, which greatly influenced, in reality, the ancient Roman one; small ex-votos, recalling the most everyday and human aspects related to the religious life of those eras, to our eyes, so distant; oil lamps and other objects of common use through which we can go back in time and imagine reconstructing what habits had those who, by a few centuries, preceded us.
Despite recent research at the Institute, no further precise and detailed information regarding the entry of these objects into the Library has emerged so far. One certain fact, however, is a handwritten letter found and preserved along with the early Christian oil lamp (on display), which states its acquisition in 1865 by Father Vincenzo Maria Gatti (1811-1881).
Read more:
E. Vatta, La collezione di reperti archeologici: tra Antico e Tardoantico nel museolum casanatense, in “Rischiarare il vero, rilevare il bello. Storie e modelli di tutela e valorizzazione del patrimonio culturale”, a cura di Serafina Pennestrì, Roma, Ministero della Cultura, 2021 (Notiziario del Portale Numismatico dello Stato. Serie Medaglieri italiani, 15), p. 301-330
Read also: