The Biblioteca Oliveriana is a public library located in the Palazzo Almerici on via Mazza in the town of

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

, region of

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

, Italy. It shares the building with the Museo Oliveriano, an

archaeology museum An archaeology museum is a museum that specializes in the display of archaeological artifacts. Many archaeology museum are in the open air, such as the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Roman Forum.David Watkin. ''The Roman Forum.'' Cambridge, Ma ...

with which it shares a common history.

History

The idea of a public museum for these artifacts came from the scholar Giovanni Battista Passeri (1694-1780). In 1756,

Annibale degli Abati Olivieri Annibale degli Abati Olivieri (17 June 1708 – 29 September 1789) was an Italian archaeologist, numismatist and librarian, considered the founder of the Biblioteca Oliveriana, Pesaro. An aristocrat without heirs, he was the author of works of arc ...

(1708–1789), an aristocrat without heirs, donated his collection of antiquities, including medals and ancient coins, and his book collection to the city, to form the nucleus of the present Oliveriana Library. In 1787, the collection was enhanced by the collections of

Giovanni Battista Passeri Giovanni Battista Passeri (c. 1610 – 22 April 1679) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. He was a pupil of the painter Domenichino, as the latter worked at Frascati. He painted genre and still life paintings. Life Born in Rome, Passeri ...

(1694–1780). The library and the museum had their first accommodation in Piazzetta San Giacomo (today Piazza Olivieri) on the ground floor of the eighteenth-century Palazzo Olivieri, designed by the architect and painter

Giovanni Andrea Lazzarini Giovanni Andrea Lazzarini (19 November 1710 – 7 September 1801) was an Italian painter, poet, and art historian of the late-Baroque or Rococo. He was born at Pesaro. He was instructed in painting by Francesco Mancini, and studied at Rome ...

; the library was inaugurated on May 2, 1793. In 1885 (or July 31, 1892), the various collections in possession of the city were brought to the present site.

Library

The three reading rooms are respectively called Olivieri, Passeri, and Perticari. The first houses the white Carrara marble bust of Olivieri, sculpted by

Sebastian Pantanelli Sebastian may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sebastian (name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Saint Sebastian, a Christian saint martyred in the 3rd century * Sebastian of Portugal (1554–1578 ...

in 1791–92; the second houses a portrait of the archaeologist Passeri; and the third houses part of the library of the illustrious scholar and linguist Giulio Perticari (1779–1822). In his will, Olivieri stated:

Where reigns idleness and ignorance there can be no morality. May it therefore be that the income you will derive from my goods will serve to make my fellow citizens cultivated and industrious.

Furthermore, he wished that the foundation lead to the provision in Pesaro of "Masters of Science, chosen in accordance to the times and agreeable to the needs, the abilities, and inclinations of citizens ... without giving these chairs to a specific religious community" and that the directors "consider specially the study of Law and Medicine ... and promote the study of painting, sculpture and architecture" and "introduce into Pesaro any new art". The library contains over 400

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

, including the ''

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' (; ), called in English ''Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream'' or ''The Dream of Poliphilus'', is a book said to be by Francesco Colonna. It is a famous example of an incunable (a work of early printing). The wor ...

'' printed by

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and Renaissance humanism, humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preser ...

in 1499 in Venice and the ''Varia carmina'' by

Sebastian Brant Sebastian Brant (also Brandt; 1457/1458 – 10 May 1521) was a German humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire '' Das Narrenschiff'' (''The Ship of Fools''). Early life and education Brant was born in either 1457 or 1458 in Strasbo ...

printed by

Johann Bergmann Sidney Bergmann (born 1905, date of death unknown) was an Austrian wrestler. He competed in the Greco-Roman lightweight event at the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officia ...

in 1498 in Basel. A full catalogue is available.

Museum

Iscrizioni picene - Stele di Novilara - Museo archeologico nazionale delle Marche

The Museo Oliveriano has a collection of Greek bronze statuettes, Ancient Roman art and artifacts, including sculpture, ceramics and coins. It also has objects excavated from the 7-8 AC (pre-Roman) burial at the necropolis of Novilara. These include portions of

stelae A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

inscribed in the

North Picene language North Picene, also known as North Picenian or Northern Picene, is a supposed ancient language that may have been spoken in part of central-eastern Italy; alternatively the evidence for the language may be a hoax, with the language never having e ...

, and one depicting a sea battle with a

Liburna A liburna was a type of small galley used for raiding and patrols. Originally utilized by the Liburnians, a pirate tribe from Dalmatia, it later became a staple of the Roman navy.. History A stone tablet (''Stele di Novilara'') discovered nea ...

. The museum also has a bronze tabula fabrorum. It has artifacts from the sacred grove of

Lucus Pisaurensis Lucus Pisaurensis is a sacred grove or lucus of ancient Pisaurum, modern Pesaro in Italy. It is just outside the coastal ''comune'' of Pesaro, between the Colle della Salute and the Collina in Santa Veneranda. It is in the Pesaro e Urbino Province ...

and the pre-Roman

Votive Stones of Pesaro Lucus Pisaurensis is a sacred grove or lucus of ancient Pisaurum, modern Pesaro in Italy. It is just outside the coastal ''comune'' of Pesaro, between the Colle della Salute and the Collina in Santa Veneranda. It is in the Pesaro e Urbino Provin ...

. The museum includes many Latin epitaphs. It also has a collection of post-Roman medallions.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliveriana Buildings and structures completed in 1791 Libraries in Pesaro Libraries established in 1756