The Biblioteca Laudense is the main public library (Biblioteca Comunale) located on Via Solferino #72, in the town of Lodi, in the region of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

, Italy. The library is in the Palazzo San Filippo, once housing the convent and chapel of the Oratorians. It now houses the library and a Civic Museum of Lodi.

History

The Filippini had arrived in Lodi by 1622, and acquired this space by 1639. They began construction of the church of San Filippo in 1645. The structure, including the adjacent housing was rebuilt in 1740-1758, with completion of the large hall in the library with the ceiling frescoed by

Carlo Innocenzo Carloni Carlo Innocenzo Carlone or Carloni (1686–1775) was an Italian painter and engraver, active especially in Germany. Biography He was a native of Scaria, near Como, in Lombardy, but may have been from the Carloni family of Genoese painters. H ...

with the ''Glory of St Philip Neri''. The

Oratorians An Oratorian is a member of one of the following religious orders: * Oratory of Saint Philip Neri (Roman Catholic), who use the postnominal letters C.O. * Oratory of Jesus (Roman Catholic) * Oratory of the Good Shepherd (Anglican) * Teologisk Orator ...

valued both devotion and knowledge and completed the large walnut cabinets for storing books. The structure was unfinished in 1791 when the French occupation led to the suppression of the order, and creation of a public library. In its origins, the library had some 2000 volumes donated by the government. But with the suppression of the orders, the collection was added the 2000 books of the Filippini, 100 volumes and 40 manuscripts of the cloistered

Augustinians Augustinians are members of Christian religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13 ...

, and 100 volumes from the Cappuccini di

Casalpusterlengo Casalpusterlengo is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italy, Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Lodi, Lombardy, Lodi. It received the honorary title of city with a presidenti ...

. The library now includes 120 incunabula, including: * Fr. Umbertus, ''De veris et falsis virtutibus'', (1466). *

Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

Aurelius Theodosius, ''Expositio in Sermone Scipionis by MT Ciceronis'' (

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

), (1472). * ''Opus primae partis summae super totam theologiam'', (1473). * Da Bergamo fr. Petrus, ''Tabula super omnia opera. San Thomae''. Bononiae (Bologna), Azoguidi, (1473). * ''Biblia sacra''. Venetiis, (1475). * Comissarius Antonius, ''Contra omnes fere aegritudines''. Brisciae (Brescia), per ff de Colonia, (1476). * Augustinus Dati, ''Isagogicus libellus in eloquentiae praecepta''. Mediolani (Milan), tipografia Lavagna, (1476). * Albertus da Padua, ''Expositio Evangeliorum Dominicalium et festivalium''. Venetiis (Venice), (1476). It conserves antique manuscripts, including: * Illuminated and engraved manuscripts and musical treatises by

Franchino Gaffurio Franchinus Gaffurius (Franchino Gaffurio; 14 January 1451 – 25 June 1522) was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He was an almost exact contemporary of Josquin des Prez and Leonardo da Vinci, both of whom were his pers ...

, (1496) * Various manuscripts by Maffeo Veggio, including a ''De significatione verborum in jure civili'' published in 1477 in Venice. * Liber jurìum civitatis Laudae, (1280). * Statuta Laudensia, (1234). The library contains ancient topographical maps of Lodi, six atlanti, six musical manuscripts, and autographed manuscripts of

Antonio Magliabechi Antonio di Marco Magliabechi (or Magliabecchi; 29 October 1633 - 4 July 1714) was an Italian librarian, scholar and bibliophile. Biography He was born at Florence, the son of a burgher named Marco Magliabechi, and Ginevra Baldorietta. Although ...

;

Francesco Redi Francesco Redi (18 February 1626 – 1 March 1697) was an Italian physician, naturalist, biologist, and poet. He is referred to as the "founder of experimental biology", and as the "father of modern parasitology". He was the first person to cha ...

;

Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni Giovanni Mario Crescimbeni (October 9, 1663March 8, 1728) was an Italian critic and poet. Crescimbeni was a founding member and leader of the erudite literary society of Accademia degli Arcadi in Rome. Biography Born in Macerata, which was then ...

; Duchess Anna Farnese,

Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Poland Eleonore Maria Josefa of Austria (21 May 1653 – 17 December 1697) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, and subsequently Duchess of Lorraine by her second marriage to Charles ...

; and

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina ( sv, Kristina, 18 December (New Style) 1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death a ...

. The library has Letters from cardinals

Decio Azzolini Decio Azzolino (11 April 1623 – 8 June 1689) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal, code-breaker, investigator and leader of the Squadrone Volante. Early life Azzolino was born at Fermo, the son of Pompeo Azzolino and Giulia Ruffo. He was the gre ...

;

Pietro Vidoni Pietro Vidoni (8 November 1610 – 5 January 1681) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal who served from 1652 to 1660 as the papal legate and nuncio to Poland. Personal life Vidoni was born 8 November 1610 in Cremona into Italian nobili ...

Vincenzo Monti Vincenzo Monti (19 February 1754 – 13 October 1828) was an Italian poet, playwright, translator, and scholar, the greatest interpreter of Italian neoclassicism in all of its various phases. His verse translation of the ''Iliad'' is considered ...

, and

Lazzaro Spallanzani Lazzaro Spallanzani (; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily function ...

. It has a collection of engravings, including a translation of Virgil, by frate Atanasio, and printed in 1473 on parchment. An inventory from 1877 lists 18,000 volumes including editions of the ''Aenid'' by the Greek Atanasio, published in parchment in 1476 Vicenza by Ermanno Levilapide (Lichtenstein of Cologne); a ''De imitatione Christi'' (1488) published in Venice; 16th-century cartographical charts. The library also has many documents relating to Lodi history. The library has a collection of 120,000 volumes including parchment books, manuscripts, codices, incunaboli, and engravings. The initial core of the collection was the 1810 acquisition by the commune of the Oratorian library. Added to this, were the collections of Carlo Mancini, a local nobleman. The library has a monument dedicated to cavaliere Carlo Mancini, a local nobleman, and one of its prime donors, and a stucco bust of Francesco de Lemene; as well as many portraits of famous Lodigiani.Statistica delle biblioteche
Volume 1, Ministero di Agricoltura, Industria, e Commercio, pages 63-64.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laudense Libraries in Lombardy Baroque architecture in Lombardy Buildings and structures in Lombardy Lodi, Lombardy