Destratifying the Ancient Collection of Sarnano: Textual and Material Intersections Based on Fifteenth-Century Printed Miscellanies
Abstract
This study applies an analytical and reconstructive methodology to the ancient book collection of Sarnano, examining the synergy between textual layers and the physical materiality of volumes as primary documentary sources. By taking bound miscellanies as a key vantage point – and as tools for collective use typical of early modern book management – this paper destratifies the collection to isolate coherent textual and material nuclei. Autoptic examination of the surviving copies reveals a network of connections centred on the late fifteenth-century reception of prominent Paduan school philosophers, most notably Gaetano de Thienis. Finally, the paper addresses the elusive provenance of these artefacts. It critically weighs their likely monastic origins against the challenges of identifying them within the library of the Franciscan convent of San Francesco, a task complicated by a systematic lack of ownership inscriptions and ex libris.
open access | peer reviewed
Submitted: Aug. 3, 2026 | Accepted: Sept. 16, 2026 | Published Nov. 11, 2026 | Language: it
Keywords Sammelband • Provenance and reception of texts • Biblioteca Comunale di Sarnano • Aristotelian-Averroistic tradition in fifteenth ce • Archaeology of the book
Copyright © 2026 Monica Bocchetta. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/979-12-5742-114-4/004