Biblioteca Angelica

After a harrowing search to find the location (none of the four vigili I asked could point me in the direction of Piazza Sant’Agostino), I found the Nancy De Concillius group (half an hour late) for today’s tour: Biblioteca Angelica, the oldest public library in the world. The library owes its name to the Augustinian Bishop Angelico Rocca (1546-1620), a collector of rare editions who was in charge of the Vatican Printing House during the reign of Pope Sixtus V. The Bishop entrusted his collection of some 20,000 volumes to the friars at the convent of St. Augustine in Rome at the end of the 16th century. These volumes were added to the existing collection of valuable manuscripts donated to the monastery by Roman nobles when they had died. But the Archbishop also provided a suitable building, an annuity, and a set of regulations. He wished the library to be open to everyone regardless of their income or social standing. This was a novel concept, and thus the first public library was begun.

Today, the Angelica consists of nearly 200,000 volumes. The public reading room in the library (which is reached after climbing a flight of stairs to protect it from flooding) is an amazing sight to behold. Three stories of ancient books line the walls. After we were given an overview and a history of the library, we went downstairs to an archive room where one of the Italian librarians pulled several manuscripts for us to inspect up close. Our tour today, was organized by appointment. It is a public library, so anyone over the age of 16 is admitted with proper identification. However, to see many of the ancient manuscripts requires special planning.

First, we looked at the pages of a catalogue that the monks kept of the dead dating back to the 9th century! The catalogue had been rebound, but the pages were original. We also saw the very first volume – written by hand – of Dante’s Divine Comedy! Clearly many in our group are biblio-nuts, and so the enthusiasm was high and the librarian not only kept showing us books but let us touch and turn the pages! This would never happen in America. We looked at a “Geography of Rome" from 1616 which was page upon page of detailed drawings of building in Rome including those found in the Roman Forum and up on Palatine Hill. We also looked at a book of botanical illustrations from the 1600’s. We learned about Gothic lettering, the printing process once the press was invented, and the art of making the vellum (from animal skins) that the books were written on. We also gawked at the gold (real gold) and detail used in the decoration of the vellum surrounding the writing.

We were supposed to spend an hour at the library and then visit the neighboring church of Sant’Agostino. But viewing ancient manuscripts apparently mesmerized the entire group of geek-head women (including Nancy herself) to such an extent that we spent nearly 2 ½ hours in the library and by the time we wrestled ourselves outside, the church was closed. Besides seeing the library and many of its treasures, the tour was enjoyable for me just to have the opportunity to meet some of these women, many of whom have been living in Rome for years if not decades, and who are not only knowledgeable, but seeking knowledge.

Instead of Basilica Sant'Agostino, we walked around the corner to the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi – the French National Church. I had visited this church previously on the Caravaggio tour with my Italian school. Then, the description was … in Italian. This time, Nancy briefly described the three Caravaggio paintings in the chapel – in English – and it was not only great to see the art again but to hear a different take on it: historical as opposed to artistic. Even in San Luigi dei Francesi, we only had about 15 minutes before closing time. The group decided to go for coffee at the well-known establishment Sant’Eustacio. Sant’Eustacio is known throughout Rome for a special technique their baristas employ to make the coffee foamy. Also, their coffee comes with sugar unless you specifically ask for "senza zucchero." It’s one of those places I’d always heard about, so now I can cross it off my list. Afterwards, many in the group were going to lunch – as they often do after the tours. But the day was sunny and beautiful, and I decided to go my own way, for a walk, instead.

The quality of the sunshine – even on a coldish day – is incredible in Rome. The sky is deep blue, and the sun bright. I walked through Piazza Navona; I walked up to the Ara Pacis; and I ended up in Piazza Nicosia where I stopped to have a pizza. I sat outside and enjoyed my lunch – outside! Then I continued up Via Ripetta to Piazza del Popolo, where after a few minutes, Josh picked me up. He had been visiting an artist at a gallery this morning. He’d seen this artist’s work previously at a show, and today was able to see many more of his pieces. Later in the evening Josh would attend a symposium at the University of Rome about fostering new Italian artists. He didn't tell me much about the symposium other than "these Italians can really talk." This we know. It can be frustrating sometimes to spend an hour and only get 15 minutes worth of information -- at the same time, it can be amusing.