Angelo Rocca OSA (3 March 1545, in Rocca, near Ancona – 8 April 1620, in Rome) was an Italian humanist, librarian and bishop, founder of the Angelica Library at Rome, afterwards accessible from 1604 as a public library.[1]
Most Reverend Angelo Rocca | |
|---|---|
| Church | Catholic Church |
| Diocese | Thagaste |
| In office | 1605–1620 |
| Predecessor | André Streignart |
| Successor | Giovanni Battista de Asti |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | 6 February 1605 by Ottavio Bandini |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 3, 1545 |
| Died | 8 April 1620 (aged 75) Rome, Papal States |
| Buried | Sant'Agostino, Rome |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Occupation |
|
| Alma mater | University of Padua |
Biography
editAngelo Rocca born in 1545 at Rocca Contrada, today's Arcevia.[2] He gained admission into the Convent of the Augustinians in Camerino when he was merely seven years old, and completed his education at Perugia, at Rome and at Padua, where in 1577 he graduated in theology.[3] He served as superior-general of the Augustinian Monastery of Padua from 1579 to 1585. A keen scholar of codes, because of his background and competence, he was requested by Pope Sixtus V to fill the office of Director of the Vatican Printing Press.[4]
The nephew of Aldus Manutius, the great Venetian typographer, happened to work in the Vatican Printing Office, whose acquaintance Rocca had made in Venice and with whom there existed a close bond of friendship.[5] The Augustinian Father had been the keeper and revisor of the texts printed by Manutius, and Manutius had been the publisher of Rocca's first philological work: Osservazioni intorno alla bellezza della lingua latina [Observations regarding the beauty of the Latin language]. Aldo's typographical activity, even if far from the standard of refined elegance of that of his grandfather, enjoyed in those days a very good reputation, to the extent that his editions were highly appreciated and very much sought-after. Rocca and Manutius shared a common interest in Christian Neoplatonism which sought to explore a mystical relationship between divine and human phenomena.[6]
Sistus V had entrusted Bishop Rocca also with another assignment: co-operate in the revisal of the Vulgate Bible that had been decreed by the Council of Trent.[1] As evidence of this commitment there is still in existence at the "Angelica" a Bible of 1590 with autograph annotations and marginal notes by Sistus V. This is one of the few copies left of the Sistine edition which in 1592, by order of Clement VIII, the new Pope, was withdrawn from circulation and burned. During the editing Rocca became accustomed to historic manuscripts stored in the Vatican – some of them not readily accessible until modern times.
In 1595 Rocca was appointed sacristan in the papal chapel.[1] In 1605 he was granted the office of titular bishop of Thagaste in Numidia (the historic Augustinian diocese).[1][7][8] He died in Rome on 8 April 1620 and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Augustine, the motherhouse of the Augustinian Friars.[2]
Rocca, the classical character of a highly cultured man, ranged with his interests over many fields of learning: his extensive production goes out from works on theology to works on history, philology and philosophy. Even if from a scientific standpoint not always absolutely correct,[9] his works, almost all of them in the Latin language, display his vast humanistic erudition.
As counterpart to his activity as a scholar, Rocca appeared to be very keen on books. An alert and painstaking bibliographer, he constantly enlarged his library by the purchase of rare books and works of sundry learning. His library, named in his honor Biblioteca Angelica, became one of the most complete private collections in Rome, possessing over 130,000 volumes. Its holdings were further enriched through donations and purchases; particularly significant were the acquisitions of the personal libraries of Lucas Holstenius (1661) and Cardinal Domenico Silvio Passionei (1765).[10] Having been open to the public since 1604, the Angelica is considered the oldest public library in Europe along with the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.[11][12]
Works
editRocca is the author of a great number of studies on Theology, archaeology, liturgy, natural sciences and numismatics. He edited the works of Egidio Colonna (1581), and of Augustinus Triumphus (1582) and took part in the critical edition of the works of Gregory the Great and Bonaventure.[1]
His notable works include:[1]
- Rocca, Angelo (1590). Osservazioni intorno alle bellezze della lingua latina. Venice: Presso Aldo.
- Rocca, Angelo (1591). Bibliotheca apostolica vaticana a Sixto V,... in splendidiorem... locum translata et a fratre Angelo Roccha,... commentario variarum artium ac scientiarum materiis curiosis ac difficillimis, scituque dignis refertissimo illustrata... Rome: ex typogr. apostolica vaticana.
- Bibliothecæ theologicæ et scripturalis epitome – 1863
- De Sacrosancto Christi corpore romanis pontificibus iter conficientibus præferendo commentarius – 1599
- De canonizatione sanctorum commentarius – 1601
- De campanis – 1612
An incomplete collection of his works was published in Thesaurus pontificiarum sacrarumque antiquitatum necnon ritual praxium et cæremoniarium (Rome: 1719 and 1745).[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Herbermann 1913.
- ^ a b Morici 1900–1901, p. 357.
- ^ Roth 2003, p. 275.
- ^ Serrai 1991, p. 32.
- ^ Marinelli, Anne V. (1955). "The State Public Libraries of Italy". The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy. 25 (2): 163–170. doi:10.1086/618170. ISSN 0024-2519. JSTOR 4304402.
- ^ Serrai 2004, pp. 50–1.
- ^ "Thagaste (Titular See)" Catholic-Hierarchy.org. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 7 October 2016
- ^ "Titular Episcopal See of Thagaste Algeria" GCatholic.org. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved 7 October 2016
- ^ For example he incorrectly credited St. Jerome with the invention of Glagolitic. Cf. Angelo Rocca, Bibliothecae Vaticanae Appendix de Dialectis (Rome, 1591), 320.
- ^ Speciale, L.; Paravicini Bagliani, A. (1999). "ROMA - Biblioteche". Enciclopedia dell'Arte Medievale. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "Biblioteca Angelica". cultura.gov.it. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
- ^ See Israel, Jonathan (2001). Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity, 1650-1750. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0198206088.
Bibliography
edit
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Angelo Rocca". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.- Morici, Medardo (1900–1901). "Del bibliofilo Angelo Rocca fondatore dell'Angelica". La Bibliofilía. 2 (9/10): 357–362. JSTOR 26205687.
- Serrai, Alfredo (1991). "Muzio Pansa e Angelo Rocca, storiografi della Biblioteca Vaticana". Il Bibliotecario. 30: 1–67.
- Roth, F. (2003). "Rocca, Angelo". New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 12: Ref–Sep (2nd ed.). Detroit: Thomson-Gale. p. 275.
- Serrai, Alfredo (2004). Angelo Rocca fondatore della prima biblioteca pubblica europea. Milan: Sylvestre Bonnard. ISBN 88-86842-95-3.
- Serrai, Alfredo (2006). Breve storia delle biblioteche in Italia. Milan: Sylvestre Bonnard. ISBN 88-89609-24-9.
External links
edit
- Nanni, Stefania (2017). "ROCCA, Angelo". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 88: Robusti–Roverella (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
- Giambene, Luigi (1936). "ROCCA, Angelo". Enciclopedia Italiana. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
