VERSO UN’INDAGINE SUGLI STAMPATI DI SAN GIOVANNI A CARBONARA: IL CASO DI UN GELLIO POSTILLATO DELLA COLLEZIONE DI ANTONIO SERIPANDO

Abstract

The San Giovanni a Carbonara book collection constitutes one of the most significant historical heritages preserved by the National Library of Naples. Originating from the integration of the library owned by the humanist Aulo Giano Parrasio with that of his heir, the Neapolitan scholar Antonio Seripando, the collection comprises hundreds of Greek and Latin manuscripts, alongside an
extensive corpus of printed editions. Many of these books are annotated, in some cases by Parrasio and Seripando themselves, or by members of their intellectual circle. The first part of the paper examines the documentary tools that enable the reconstruction of this remarkable collection, with particular focus on the printed editions, most of which remain to be unidentified. The second part presents the case study of an annotated exemplar of Aulus Gellius’ Noctes Atticae (BNN S.Q. X
E 17), which provides a wealth of information on the philological activity carried out on ancient texts within the Neapolitan humanist milieu of the early sixteenth century, in which Antonio Seripando played a prominent role.