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Special Collections |
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As time passed by, the extraordinary private collection of Cardinal Stefano Borgia (1731-1804), Secretary and Prefect of the Congregation Propaganda Fide, was acquired by the Library of the Urban College. As a great Maecenas, He used to collect antiques, masterpieces, printed books and manuscripts from all over the world with a view to study and improve his knowledge of the culture, the religion, the history, the customs and traditions of the various peoples. His competence in all fields of human knowledge led Him to be compared to the great scholars of the Renaissance. History and archaeology were his favorite subjects.
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Cardinal Borgia was particularly engaged in improving the Archives and the Library of the Congregation by donating his collections and opening the library to students who were studying at the Urban College of Rome.He promoted the publication of catechisms in the various languages used within the missions as well as of other books likely to be useful for the evangelizing action.After his death, the collection has been preserved in the Propaganda Building (Spanish Steps). At present, some volumes (manuscripts) are kept by the Apostolic Vatican Library (Borgia Collection), others (printed books) by the Library of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.The present collection accounts for about 3,000 printed volumes dated between the XVI and the XVIII centuries and boasts important texts of Patristics, Holy Scriptures, Universal History, History of the Church, Law, Canon Law (both texts and commentaries).
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A few books come from the collections of Cardinal Lorenzo Caleppi (1741-1817), nuncio in Lisbon, and of Cardinal Giuseppe Garampi (1725-1792), archivist and historiographer, the author the largest reference index of the Vatican Secret Archives.Most books have a leather or parchment binding. The high historical value of this collection, the sophisticated search for books, the rarity of the XV-XVIII century editions represent an extraordinary legacy to be put at the disposal of scholars coming from every part of the world for research.
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Other special collections of the Library contain various volumes donated by illustrious personalities:
- Cardinal Marella Collection (missions, culture and history of the Far East);
- Cardinal Juillen Collection (ecclesiastical law);
- Professor Grottanelli Collection (anthropology, ethnology);
- Monsignor Garofalo Collection (Holy Scriptures);
- Father Humertclaude Collection (history and culture of Japan in Japanese);