Biblioteca Palatina
| Country | Italy |
|---|---|
| Established | 1761 |
| Location | Parma |
| Coordinates | 44°48′17″N 10°19′33″E / 44.8047°N 10.3257°ECoordinates: 44°48′17″N 10°19′33″E / 44.8047°N 10.3257°E |
The Biblioteca Palatina or Palatina Library was established in 1761 in the city of Parma by Philip Bourbon, Duke of Parma. It is one of the cultural institutions located in the Palazzo della Pilotta complex in the center of Parma. The Palatina Library was named after Apollus Palatinus.
The first librarian was the Theatine priest Paolo Maria Paciaudi, who was assigned as "Antiquario e Bibliotecario". The goal was to form a public library as part of a project by Duke Filippo's prime minister, Guillaume Du Tillot. The library lacked many of the works that had been collected by the House of Farnese while ruling in Parma, when the future Charles III of Spain, brother of Filippo and who was Duke from 1731 to 1735, moved the local library and archives to Naples in 1736.
Paciaudi failed to acquire the collections of Cardinal Domenico Passionei in Roma and of the Pertusati family of Milan, and thus embarked on shopping for books in the market. He catalogued his purchases under six main classes: Theology, Nomology, Philosophy, History, Philology, and Liberal and Mechanic Arts. The books required the importation of Louis Antoine Laferté, a master book binder.
The collection was kept in a gallery refurbished for the purpose by the court architect, Ennemond Alexandre Petitot, and inaugurated in 1769. In 1771, both Du Tillot and Paciaudi fell out of favor, and the library fell under the supervision of the Benedictine Andrea Mazza. However, Paciaudi was recalled from 1778 till his death in 1785 to his former office.
Paciaudi was replaced by the polymath cleric Ireneo Affò; he presided over expansion into the Galleria dell'Incoronata. When Affò died in 1797, he was replaced by former Jesuit priest Matteo Luigi Canonici, until 1805.
In 1804, the Napoleonic administration of the Duchy named Angelo Pezzana as director, a post he held till 1862. Pezzana catalogued the books under five classes: Theology, Jurisprudence, Science & arts, Belle-Lettere (Fine Literature), and History.
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