Forwarded from ex-libris listserv for lis-libhistorians.
Peter Hoare
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Subject:
The only surviving Roman library?
Date:
Tue, 9 Mar 1999 13:31:45 -0800 (PST)
From:
[log in to unmask] (Paul Knobel)
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The library of the Villa dei Papiri seems to be the only
surviving Roman library.
The attention of members of exlibris is drawn to the following book
translated from Italian with extra material I believe in the English
edition.
It discusses the Greek library of Philodemus, an epicurean poet (about
110-35 B.C), in Herculaneum. The papyri were found partly burnt and
could
not be unrolled until now. They are being transferred to computer by
Professor Gigante of the Centro Internazionale per lo Studio dei Papiri
Ercolanesi, University of Naples.
Philodemus had two libraries. The Latin library is in the process of
being
excavated. It is in part of the city which has been built over and $60
million has been allocatted to excavate it (there has been some
controversy
about this I understand, since some people think the cost cannot be
justified; information from Ted Robinson, Nicholson Museum, University
of
Sydney).
The Villa dei Papiri is the model for the old Getty Museum in Malibu; if
the complete villa has not been excavated I wonder how accurate the
detailing and even plan of the old Getty is. The bronze sculptures from
the
pool area of the Villa are in the Museo Nazionale in Naples; copies are
at
Malibu.
Marcello Gigante, Philodemus in Italy: The Books from Herculaneum,
University of Michigan Press, 1995, 184 pages, 16 photos, ISBN
0-472-10569-8. Cost $34.50. A fuller description of the book is
available
on the Web under Villa dei Papiri.
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