In July 1996 a catalogue was published of the most ancient manuscripts
of the Biblioteca Giovardiana di Veroli (near Frosinone, Italy).
It was the work of the Dipartimento di Filologia e Storia and of the Scuola
di specializzazione per conservatori di beni archivistici e librari della
civiltà monastica at the University of Cassino, after an assignment
by Regione Lazio. In the catalogue, 37 manuscripts are described - two
of them in Greek script - written mostly before the XVII century. Some
sketchy indications about them can be found in the 34th volume of Inventari
dei manoscritti delle biblioteche d’Italia (Inventory of manuscripts
in Italian libraries) by Camillo Scaccia Scarafoni.
The description file, elaborated on this occasion, has three fixed sections
and one that can be modulated according to the need and interest of the
researcher. The first section contains the essential data: material, date,
origin, dimensions, number of pages, bookbinding. The second section is
variable: it is possible to find here some information concerning the material,
the quires, the ruling, the impagination, the decoration, the binding,
the history of the manuscript and other elements considered important for
the description. The third section presents an accurate description of
the content, the fourth concerns the bibliography of the codex.
The catalogue is not intended as a model for all future works but it wants
to offer some codicological and textual elements that can help a better
knowledge of an interesting and hardly accessible collection.
Paola Busonero (Coop. INCIPIT)