The Lamezia Terme Town Library is located in the historic centre of the former village of Nicastro, in the province of Catanzaro in the

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

region of Italy. It is situated in the Nicotera-Severisio historical building located in the

Tommaso Campanella Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet. Campanella was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for he ...

square. The town library belongs to the Territorial Library System of Lamezia Terme which also includes other 17 towns libraries of as many towns of the Lamezia Terme area.

History

The library was founded in 1897 by collecting all book funds taken from the Dominican and Capuchin convents in Nicastro which added to modern books and a dedicated collection of books about

and Lamezia Terme itself, reaches a number of 25000 volumes.

Services and reading rooms

The library has three main rooms: * ''Reading Room'' (first floor): this room is equipped with big tables and it includes the book collection for Art, Law literature, Medicine, Science, History and Geography * ''Multimedia Room'' (ground floor): this room is equipped with four computers with internet access * ''Kids room'' (first floor): this room is equipped with big tables and collections available in CD, DVD, VHS, interactive games and guided support for internet based searches. It is possible to ask to the library staff any information regarding the book collection and also to ask for a guided tour of the historical building that currently hosts the library, which is the old house of a famous noble family of the former village of Nicastro.

Casa del Libro Antico ''(House of the Ancient Book)''

The ''Casa del Libro Antico'' ''(the House of the Ancient Book)'' is the historical and specialised section of the town library. It was founded in 2002 to take care of the historical book funds belonging to the Capuchin and Dominican convents of Nicastro which were confiscated in 1866 because of the suppression of the religious orders. All those books are an invaluable evidence of how important a book was especially for the Dominican friars who strictly respected and kept all the books they had, being those very expensive for either clergyman or lay readers.

Collection

The collection includes mainly printed books about

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 ...

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 ...

, patrology, ecclesiastical history and exegesis,

homiletics In religious studies, homiletics ( ''homilētikós'', from ''homilos'', "assembled crowd, throng") is the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific art of public preaching. One who practices or studies homiletics may be ...

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

, all dated from the 11th to the 19th century, among which it is worth mentioning some with annotations from

who studied Aristotelian logic in the village of Nicastro (now Lamezia Terme) between the years 1585 and 1587. There are in fact more than thirty books from the 16th century which are all about the Aristotelian Philosophy and its classic commentators such as

Averroes Ibn Rushd (14 April 112611 December 1198), archaically Latinization of names, Latinized as Averroes, was an Arab Muslim polymath and Faqīh, jurist from Al-Andalus who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astron ...

Alexander of Aphrodisias Alexander of Aphrodisias (; AD) was a Peripatetic school, Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek Commentaries on Aristotle, commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria and liv ...

, Theodorus Gaza, Saint Thomas, averroistic books by Agostino Nifo and Marcantonio Zimara and Crisostomo Iavelli, mentioned by

himself in his ''Philosophia sensibus demonstrata'' and interesting it is that some of those books contain also annotations from original authors. In addition to the printed books, the collection includes also some manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts, of Greek and Latin illuminated codices so that the total number of books reaches more than 2,500 volumes, all dated from the 16th to the 19th century and some of them printed in various Italian and European old centres of excellence of the art of typography, such as the presses of

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 ...

, Lucantonio Giunta, Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari, Froben and Plantin. There are also several books by

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

, such as ''

Summa Theologica The ''Summa Theologiae'' or ''Summa Theologica'' (), often referred to simply as the ''Summa'', is the best-known work of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), a scholastic theologian and Doctor of the Church. It is a compendium of all of the main t ...

'', the ''aristotelian'' books in different editions and other books with his comments such as the ''

Epistles An epistle (; ) is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The ...

'' by

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

(Paris, 1541), where two long annotations can be found regarding a topic also debated and examined in depth by

: the absence of sin in Christ and the Virgin Mary's immunity from the original sin. In order to give evidence of the importance that the singing had during the religious service for the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

, the collection exhibits some

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

s from the 18th century with an attractive red and black printing of the lyrics and accompaniment. It is worth mentioning that only one of these books is previous to 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 ...

, which is the ''Repertorium morale'' by Berchorius (

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, 1520) where it is also possible to find an annotation from a certain Tommaso from Squillace (i.e.

) and where all pages are marked at the top with a specific annotation about the sacred writer discussed in there, which was probably a necessary thing to do for a quick reference or to memorize in a more visual way the content of the book because of the gothic characters used for the printing which were quite difficult to read. FraMauroDetailedMap

In addition to the book collection there are also a completely restored

celestial globe Celestial globes show the apparent positions of the stars in the sky. They omit the Sun, Moon, and planets because the positions of these bodies vary relative to those of the stars, but the ecliptic, along which the Sun moves, is indicated. ...

dated back to 1695 plus a not restored terrestrial one dated back to 1744. The first one was produced 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, ...

by the ''Calchographia Dominici de Rubeis'' in 1695 with an illustration of the vault of heaven based on the observations of

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...

whereas the second, with the illustrations of seas and lands, was produced yet in Rome but by the ''Calcografia della Reverenda Camera Apostolica'' in 1744. The two globes had been mentioned by Vito Capialbi (a famous Italian archeologist of the 19th century) in his report about Calabrian libraries as kept in the collection of another Dominican friary of

Soriano Calabro Soriano Calabro ( Calabrian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Vibo Valentia in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about southeast of Vibo Valentia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a populatio ...

and from

in his The City of the Sun. There are also shown some very high quality reproductions of the Fra Mauro world map (the original is the Biblioteca Marciana library in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and where south is shown at the top and north at the bottom of the map), of the

Codex Rossanensis The Rossano Gospels, designated by 042 or Σ (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 18 ( Soden), held at the cathedral of Rossano in Italy, is a 6th-century illuminated manuscript Gospel Book written following the reconquest of the Italian peninsul ...

(the original is in the diocean museum of

Rossano Rossano is a town and ''frazione'' of Corigliano-Rossano in the province of Cosenza, Calabria, southern Italy. The city is situated on an eminence from the Gulf of Taranto. The town is known for its marble and alabaster quarry, quarries. The to ...

) and of the

Tabula Peutingeriana ' (Latin Language, Latin for 'The Peutinger Map'), also known as Peutinger's Tabula, Peutinger tablesJames Strong (theologian) , James Strong and John McClintock (theologian) , John McClintock (1880)"Eleutheropolis" In: ''The Cyclopedia of Bibli ...

. The following ones are some of ancient books included in the collection: *

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...

Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...

, restored and illustrated with woodprints, dated 1536 *

Liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official Church service, religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of ...

s owned by the Dominican friars of Nicastro and dated 1656 * ''Conceptos de la Sagrada Escrit'', by Bernardo de Ribera as an evidence of preaching in the Spanish language, either as a free choice or perhaps dictated, with an annotation of ownership on the title page: "fr. Ambrosius de Neocastro lector e filius Con(ven)tus Neocastri", which shows that the book was used by a clergyman of the village of Nicastro * ''Considerationi Predicabili sopra gli Evangeli della Quaresima et altre feste'', 1665 by Domenico De Sanctis * ''Institutiones ad Christianam Theolo(giam)'',

1575 by Giovanni Viguerio * ''M. Tullii Ciceronis Rhetoricorum ad Herenium Libri Quatuor'',

1584 * ''Sermoni domenicali'' by

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

1574 * '' Summa summarum'' also called ''Summa Silvestrina'', two volumes dated 1581 * ''Commentarium in quartum sententiarum'', by Domenico Soto * ''Le vite dei Cesari'' by

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

1506 * ''De Vitis Pontificum Romanorum'' by Bartolomeo Sacchi also called il Platina,

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

1568, mentioned by

in his ''Historiographia'' * ''De civitate Dei'' by

Saint Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berbers, Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia (Roman province), Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced th ...

1570 * ''Bibbia con glossa ordinaria e Postilla'' by Nicolo' da Lyra,

1588 * ''Opera Omnia'' by

1579-87 * ''Candelabrum Aureum, 1608

Prohibited publications

The collection includes also books of a very high historical value as they prove the laws that ruled what was legitimate or not to read as well as the ongoing prohibitions during the past centuries. Those rules might be the reason why three very different books stored in the library of Lamezia have been bound together, those are the ''Lapsi, Punitim ac Reparati Orbis Catastrophe. Poema Sacrum'' printed in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

in 1666 and dedicated to Ioanni Caramueli(a Campanian bishop also author of some comments to this poem), a mystical essay by Pope Innocent III published in 1534 in the Protestant city of

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

(therefore unpopular) and a folk tale related to the Dominican friary of

published in

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

in 1696. The cautious illuminator who put together these books in fact, hid them using the title ''Poema Sacrum de Contemptu mundi''. There are other prohibited books included in the old Dominican collection, for instance the ''Bibliotecha Interpretum'' (1638) by Xantes Mariales, books by Zacharia Pasqualigi and three different editions of the ''Ecclesiastical History'' by Alessandro Natale (he became a prohibited author as he defended the doctrine of the '' Gallican Church''), a Venetian one of 1732 by Amat the Graveson, a Parisian one of 1740 and a Neapolitan one of 1740 by Roncaglia. Because of the ecclesiastical censorship, the books printed during the 16th century in the cities of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and other suspicious places (even if they were birth places for saints or Doctors of the Church, had been inked in order to cover all of a portion of a text classified as prohibited, which is what happened to the six big volumes of the ''Theatrum Humanae Vitae'' (Basel, 1586-87) by

Theodor Zwinger Theodor Zwinger the Elder (2 August 1533 – 10 March 1588) was a Swiss physician and Renaissance humanist scholar. He made significant contributions to the emerging genres of reference and travel literature. He was the first distinguished repre ...

stored in Lamezia though thanks to this expedient, the books were not destroyed and survived up to now. There is also a vocabulary from Greek to Latin included in the collection and printed in Basel in 1524 that has been inked for all the occurrences of the word ''Basel''. Same destiny applied to the ''

'' by

, of which the Venetian version of 1536 has been ruined by the censorship ink for entire pages. The following ones are some of prohibited publications included in the collection: * ''De Eminentissima Deiparae Virginis Perfectione'' by Joanne Maria Zamoro (

, 1629) which treats about Virgin Mary's original sin, classified as unmentionable topic and a deadly sin * Autographic letter with original seal by Ilarione from Feroleto, a village close to Lamezia Terme, about the loan of a prohibited book, dated 1749 *

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or re ...

in the edition of 1711 where the Pope was Clement XI

References

*Antonella De Vinci, ''Fra le letture del giovane Tommaso Campanella'', 133p., 2002, Jaca Book Editore *Vito Capialbi, ''Memorie delle tipografie calabresi'', second editrion by C.F. Crispo, Chicca Editore, Tivoli, 1941, p. 104

External links

Comune.lamezia-terme.cz.itComune.lamezia-terme.cz.itCalabriaonline.comTeacz.comTurismoprovinciacatanzaro.com
{{Authority control Buildings and structures in the Province of Catanzaro Public libraries in Italy Libraries established in 1897 Lamezia Terme 1897 establishments in Italy