Incunabula in italian university libraries

Census and enhancing in Emilia-Romagna

Abstract

Italian university libraries are characterized by the historical caesura that occurred after the political Unification of the Country (1861). They were libraries created to support the universities of the former states of the Italian peninsula (16th-19th centuries), holding a rich heritage which included incunabula, linked to European cultural history. Nowadays all these libraries keep on staying under State management and are complementary to the libraries of universities (19^th-21^st centuries), which support study and sometimes also hold incunabula. After an overview of incunabula in Italian university libraries, the paper focuses especially on the enhancing of incunabula in the Biblioteca Universitaria of Bologna (currently managed by the University) and in the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria of Modena (still managed by State).