Un Giustino ritrovato. Appunti per una biblioteca Caffarelli

Abstract

A Newly Discovered Justinus. Notes for the Caffarelli Library
The Caffarelli family, of ancient Roman origin, has attracted little attention from chroniclers
and, later, scholars. There is little evidence of their involvement in new humanist trends;
however, they did devote themselves to collecting ancient inscriptions. They may have had connections
with the academy of Pomponio Leto, as comparison among some manuscripts would
indicate. And there are various clues that demonstrate the presence of a copyist, Dominicus
Nuptii de Rubiano, and the existence of books in the Cafarella household. These books came
into the hands of the most illustrious descendant, Cardinal Scipione Caffarelli Borghese (1577-
1633), adopted by his uncle Paul V, brother of his mother, Hortensia Borghese. Scipione left
his collections to the new family. In the sale catalog of the Borghese Library, we found the
copies formerly owned by the Caffarelli. And we do not know if there were others beyond
those known to us.

KEYWORDS: Caffarelli library, Dominicus Nuptii de Rubiano, ms. Vitt. Em. 1641 of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma