Angelo Rocca (3 March 1545, in Rocca, near

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

– 8 April 1620, in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) was an Italian

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

and

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, founder of the Angelica Library at Rome, afterwards accessible from 1604 as a public library.

Biography

Early life and education

Angelo Rocca born in 1545 at Rocca Contrada, today's

Arcevia Arcevia is a ''comune'' in the province of Ancona of the region of Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History According to tradition, Arcevia originates from a Gal ...

. He gained admission into the Convent of the Augustinians in

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of Ca ...

when he was merely seven years old, and completed his education at

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 ...

, at

and at

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, where in 1577 he graduated in theology. After receiving his doctorate, he taught the

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

in Venice to young Augustinians. In 1576 he published his first work, a commentary on

Lorenzo Valla Lorenzo Valla (; also latinized as Laurentius; 1 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance humanist, rhetorician, educator and scholar. He is best known for his historical-critical textual analysis that proved that the Donation of Constantine w ...

's ''De Elegantiis Latinae Linguae''. About 1583 he planned to publish an

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

of Italian towns on the model of those produced by

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Braun Braun is a surname, originating from the German language, German word for the color brown. In German, ''Braun'' is pronounced – except for the "r", equal to the English word "brown". In English, it is often pronounced like "brawn". Notable p ...

and Hogemberg. He collected seventy seven maps or panoramic views but realised that they were too different in style and quality to use in a single publication and the atlas project never came to fruition.

Career

In 1579 Rocca became secretary to Agostino Molari da Fivizzano, superior-general of the Augustinians at Rome. A keen scholar of codes, because of his background and competence, Rocca was requested by

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

to fill the office of Director of the Vatican Printing Press. The

nephew In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of an individual's sibling or sibling-in-law. A niece is female and a nephew is male, and they would call their parents' siblings aunt or uncle ...

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 ...

, the great Venetian typographer, happened to work in the Vatican Printing Office, whose acquaintance Rocca had made in Venice and with whom there existed a close bond of friendship. The Augustinian Father had been the keeper and revisor of the texts printed by Manutius, and Manutius had been the publisher of Rocca's first philological work: ''Osservazioni intorno alla bellezza della lingua latina'' bservations regarding the beauty of the Latin language Aldo's typographical activity, even if far from the standard of refined elegance of that of his grandfather, enjoyed in those days a very good reputation, to the extent that his editions were highly appreciated and very much sought-after. Rocca and Manutius shared a common interest in

Christian Neoplatonism A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...

which sought to explore a mystical relationship between divine and human phenomena. Sistus V had entrusted Bishop Rocca also with another assignment: co-operate in the revisal of the

Vulgate Bible The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Roman Church. Later, of his own initia ...

that had been decreed by the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

. As evidence of this commitment there is still in existence at the "Angelica" a Bible of 1590 with autograph annotations and marginal notes by Sistus V. This is one of the few copies left of the Sistine edition which in 1592, by order of

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

, the new Pope, was withdrawn from circulation and burned. During the editing Rocca became accustomed to historic manuscripts stored in the Vatican – some of them not readily accessible until modern times. Rocca helped plan the cycle of frescoes made by

Domenico Fontana Domenico Fontana (154328 June 1607) was an Italian"Domenico Fontana."
''

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. In 1591, he wrote the ''Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana'', a bibliography of all books found in the Vatican Library, as well as a detailed exposition of the library's history and management. In 1595 Rocca was appointed

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decretal ...

in the papal chapel. In 1605 he was granted the office of

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

Thagaste Thagaste (or Tagaste) was a Roman Empire, Roman-Berbers, Berber city in present-day Algeria, now called Souk Ahras. The town was the birthplace of Saint Augustine. History Thagaste was originally a small Numidian village, inhabited by a Berbers, ...

in Numidia (the historic Augustinian diocese)."Thagaste (Titular See)"
''

Catholic-Hierarchy.org ''Catholic-Hierarchy.org'' is an online database of bishops and dioceses of the Latin Church and the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches that are in full communion with Rome. The website, not officially sanctioned by the Church, is run as a private pro ...

''. David M. Cheney. Retrieved 7 October 2016"Titular Episcopal See of Thagaste Algeria"
''GCatholic.org''. Gabriel Chow. Retrieved 7 October 2016 He died in Rome on 8 April 1620 and was buried in the Basilica of Saint Augustine, the

motherhouse A motherhouse or mother house is the principal house or community for a Catholic religious community.YourDictionaryMotherhouse/ref> One example is the Missionaries of Charity's motherhouse in Kolkata, which functions as the congregation's headquart ...

of the

Augustinian Friars The Order of Saint Augustine (), abbreviated OSA, is a mendicant religious order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were following the Rule of Saint Augustine ...

Works and Library

Rocca, the classical character of a highly cultured man, ranged with his interests over many fields of learning: his extensive production goes out from works on

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

to works on

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

and

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. Even if from a scientific standpoint not always absolutely correct, his works, almost all of them in the

Latin language Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, display his vast humanistic erudition. As counterpart to his activity as a scholar, Rocca appeared to be very keen on books. An alert and painstaking

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

, he constantly enlarged his library by the purchase of rare books and works of sundry learning. His library, named in his honor Biblioteca Angelica, became one of the most complete private collections in Rome, possessing over 20,000 volumes. Its holdings were further enriched through donations and purchases; particularly significant were the acquisitions of the personal libraries of

Lucas Holstenius Lucas Holstenius, born Lucas Holstein (1596 – 2 February 1661), was a German Catholic humanist, geographer, historian, and librarian. Life Born at Hamburg in 1596, he studied at the gymnasium of Hamburg, and later at Leiden University, wh ...

(1661) and Cardinal

Domenico Silvio Passionei Domenico Silvio Passionei (2 December 1682 – 5 July 1761) was an italy, Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Biography Domenico Silvio Passionei was born in Fossombrone near Urbino, Marche, the second of the t ...

(1765). In 1595 he received permission from

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...

to leave this library to that monastery of his order which he deemed fitting. The permission was renewed by

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

in 1609. Subsequently, Rocca gave the library to the monastery of Sant'Agostino in Rome on the condition that it be available to the public. Having been open to the public since 1604, the Angelica is considered the oldest

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

along with the

Biblioteca Ambrosiana The Biblioteca Ambrosiana is a historic library in Milan, Italy, also housing the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana, the Ambrosian art gallery. Named after Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan, it was founded in 1609 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, whose age ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

.See

Works

Rocca is the author of a great number of studies on

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

natural sciences Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

and

numismatics Numismatics is the study or collection of currency, including coins, tokens, paper money, medals, and related objects. Specialists, known as numismatists, are often characterized as students or collectors of coins, but the discipline also inclu ...

. He edited the works of Egidio Colonna (1581), and of Augustinus Triumphus (1582) and took part in the critical edition of the works of

Gregory the Great Pope Gregory I (; ; – 12 March 604), commonly known as Saint Gregory the Great (; ), was the 64th Bishop of Rome from 3 September 590 until his death on 12 March 604. He is known for instituting the first recorded large-scale mission from Rom ...

and

Bonaventure Bonaventure ( ; ; ; born Giovanni di Fidanza; 1221 – 15 July 1274) was an Italian Catholic Franciscan bishop, Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal, Scholasticism, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General ( ...

. His notable works include: * * * * * * An incomplete collection of his works was published in ''Thesaurus pontificiarum sacrarumque antiquitatum necnon rituum, praxium ac cæremoniarum'' (Rome: 1719 and 1745).

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rocca, Angelo 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Augustinian friars 1545 births 1620 deaths University of Perugia alumni University of Padua alumni 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians 16th-century Italian writers Italian Renaissance humanists