...ove dormono depositati. Towards a history of the Biblioteca Regionale Universitaria in Catania

Abstract

The university library in Catania was founded in 1693, during the re-building of the city after the earthquake. In 1754 Vico Coco was appointed first librarian, afterwards replaced by Vito Maria Amico. In 1757 the collection of Giovan Battista Caruso was acquired, becoming the most important fund of the library. In 1763 Coco was re-integrated in his position, thanks to the intervention of the bishop of Catania, Salvatore Ventimiglia, a strong supporter of the library. In 1784 the collection “Ventimiliana” became part of the university library, under the supervision Giovanni Agostino De Cosmi, although separated from the rest of the collection. The episcopal collection became with the time a point of attraction for the Sicilian erudition, until, in 1818, Francesco Strano published the Catalogo Ragionato of the Ventimiliana. A different fortune had the university collection: for a long time neglected, it was finally systematised by Vito Rapisarda and Giovanni Sardo. Since the Unity of Italy, the university library has had several persons in charge, without finding a definitive structure. In 1893, the Ventimiliana and the University library merged together, sharing a troubled destiny.