Thesis title: La raccolta incunabolistica di Carlo Ludovico di Borbone ora a Parma: storia e descrizione
This dissertation examines the incunabula collection of Carlo Ludovico of Bourbon, which forms part of the library he assembled during his rule over the Duchy of Lucca (1824–1847) with the assistance of the librarian Pietro Pera, and which is today preserved in the “Fondo Palatino” of the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma.
The first chapter reconstructs the main events that took place during the Bourbon Duchy in Lucca (1817–1847), in order to outline the political, economic, social, and cultural context in which the library collection took shape, as well as highlighting certain aspects of the duke’s character, which later emerge in his activity as a collector.
The second chapter offers an in-depth exploration of the book world in Lucca, with particular attention to reconstructing the main public, private, and religious libraries active there from the late 18th century to the first half of the 19th century, based on existing bibliographical sources. Several unpublished documents, retrieved from the “Imperiale e Reale Corte” and “Corte borbonica di Lucca” funds of the Archivio di Stato in Florence are also transcribed, with the aim of definitively clarifying the private and personal nature of Carlo Ludovico’s library.
The third chapter traces the transition from Lucca to Parma. In fact, after Maria Luigia of Austria’s death and the reversion of the Duchy of Lucca to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1847), the Bourbon took possession of the Duchy of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, transferring his library there. This chapter briefly reconstructs the history of the institution from its founding in 1761 until 1865, when the Palatina Collection, corresponding to the former Palatina of Lucca, was absorbed by the State and incorporated into the Parma collections. Additionally, the chapter presents some results from research conducted in the “Archivio Palatino” of the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma, aiming to clarify the treatment of the Bourbon collection upon its arrival from Lucca and the role of the librarian Luigi Felice Alini in managing the collection, particularly regarding the acquisition of incunabula. The chapter concludes with a biographical profile of Pietro Zorzanello, director of the Biblioteca Palatina in Parma from 1927 to 1934 and compiler of a handwritten card catalog of the incunabula held there. The catalog of Palatini incunabula presented in the fourth chapter is proposed as an expansion of Zorzanello’s work, which, though not fully systematic in recording material evidence, remains a reference point for scholarly engagement.
The importance of a new catalog of the Palatini incunabula becomes clear given the scarcity of bibliographical resources on these items, most of which are outdated. Nevertheless, it was possible to note that this collection preserves some rather rare editions, and that many items offer valuable insights for various disciplines related to book history, due to the presence of provenance marks, historical bindings, illuminations, and marginal notes. For these reasons, it is hoped that the new catalog of the Palatini incunabula, based on updated descriptive criteria, will constitute a fundamental contribution to the valorization of this collection and stimulate renewed interest in this material.