Adamo Rossi (March 5, 1821 in

Petrignano Petrignano is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Assisi in the Province of Perugia, Umbria, central Italy. It stands at an elevation of 212 metres above sea level on the right bank of the Chiascio River, c. 8 km east to Assisi. At the time of the ...

– February 22, 1891 in

Perugia Perugia ( , ; ; ) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area. It has 162,467 ...

) was an Italian clergyman, revolutionary patriot, scholar and librarian.

Career

After studying at the archdiocesan seminary of Perugia, Rossi took part in the

First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence (), part of the ''Risorgimento'' or unification of Italy, was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other conse ...

as a military chaplain for the Perugia volunteers. Back in Perugia, he maintained a long correspondence with the government of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, which at the time seized power in the city of Rome and expelled the Pope. This caused Rossi to be suspended from his clerical position by Pope

Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

and removed from his teaching job. In 1857 he was appointed librarian at the Library Augusta (of which he was director from 1858 to 1886). After 1860 – with the end of rule by the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

– he also taught Italian and Latin at a high school. In 1862 Rossi definitely broke with the Church, resigned from his ecclesiastical position and got married. He devoted himself entirely to the study of

palaeography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

and the social, literary and artistic history of Perugia, and produced extensive publications. He was commissioned by the Municipality of Perugia to draw up an inventory of codices, books and paintings confiscated from monasteries. In 1868 Rossi published in his ''Ricerche per le biblioteche di Perugia'' three novelle by

Antonio Francesco Grazzini Antonio Francesco Grazzini or Antonfrancesco Grazzini (March 22, 1503February 18, 1584) was an Italian Renaissance author." Biography He was born in Florence or in Staggia Senese (he wrote of himself: ') of a good family, but there is no record ...

, from a 16th-century manuscript found in the Comunale of Perugia.

Theft allegation

In 1885, suspicion of theft fell on Rossi, with regard to the disappearance of an

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

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

De Officiis ''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'', ''On Obligations'', or ''On Moral Responsibilities'') is a 44 BC treatise by Marcus Tullius Cicero divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds his conception of the best way to live, behave, and observe mor ...

. He underwent a lengthy administrative and judicial investigation, which eventually exonerated him of the theft but did reveal evidence of gross negligence. Embittered by this affair, Rossi resigned the following year and went on to teach Latin at the high school of

Bevagna Bevagna is a town and ''comune'' in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria), in the flood plain of the Topino river. Bevagna is south-east of Perugia, west of Foligno, north-north-west of Montefalco, south of Assisi ...

. He died shortly thereafter, of cardiac complications. The culprit in the theft was never found. Suspicion fell on a janitor who a few years later became well-to-do enough to build for himself a fine house. The former janitor's house was nicknamed "Villa Cicero" by residents of Perugia.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Adamo People from Perugia Italian people of the Italian unification 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Italian scholars Italian librarians 1821 births 1891 deaths