Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Memorie storiche d'Argenta

Authors

• Bertoldi, Francesco Leopoldo, 1737-1824

Call number

Ms. Codex 1471
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 4477042
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/4477042

Publisher

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Language

Italian, with some passages in Latin

Origin

Date

ca. 1787

Place

Ferrara

Summary

First volume of a 3-volume collection on the history of the city of Argenta, in the Ferrara province, located in northeastern Italy. The present volume was probably written around 1787. Volume 2 and 3 are not present, but the introductory pages of the first volume offer a general description of the complete work, which aimed at offering a complete and accurate history of Argenta based on extensive research on archival material made by Bertoli over the years. Volume 1 is composed of 9 chapters, followed by notes for chapters 1-8, which contain detailed references to the large number of sources used by Bertoli to complete his work. Each chapter contains, in its initial page, a short summary of its contents. The first chapter (f.10r-26r) contains a geographical and morphological description of the region where Argenta is located, a paludal area in northeast Italy, whose main cities are Bologna and Ferrara and whose main river is the Po. Chapter 2 (f.27r-40r) pertains to the history of the origin of Argenta which, according to various sources (including Tacitus and archaeological inscriptions found in local monuments), was founded before the creation the Roman Empire by a local tribe, the Spinesi. The third chapter (f.41r-51r) contains a possible explanation, highly supported by Bertoli, of the Greek origin of the political organization of Argenta, which was a direct result of the influence of a small group of Greek migrants who lived in the area and exported their ruling system. Chapter 4 (f.51r-64r) deals with the origin of the name of the city: according to the sources quoted by Bertoli, the name was very ancient and had probably given to the city by its founders, the Spinesi. The fifth chapter (f.64r-74r) enumerates the various populations that ruled over Argenta over the first centuries of its existence, the most important being the Spinesi, which shared the territory with the Etruscans, the Gauls and the Romans. Chapter 6 (f.74r-96r) contains information related to the christianization of Argenta and how the church of San Niccoló was built. Chapter 7 (f.96r-118r) deals with how the Huns contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire and how that affected the area of Ferrara, resulting in a disastrous famine. The eighth chapter (f.119r-144r) is related to the Gothic influence over the region, and the donations made by the emperor Justinian I to the city of Ravenna. Among the sources used by Bertoldi, the most important is the Eastern Roman historian Procopius, quoted numerous times by the author. Chapter 9 (f.144r-165r) contains a brief history of the foundation of the church and monastery of San Giorgio, located in Venice, not very far from Argenta.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title from caption title (f.10r).
   

Watermark

Unidentified manuscript containing a bird and mountains.

Extent

392 leaves : 195 x 134 mm. bound to 219 x 147 mm

Foliation

Paper, i (paper) + 392; modern foliation in pencil, upper right verso. Catchwords, lower right recto.

Support

Paper

Binding

Half calf (Zacour-Hirsch), Manoscritti Bertoldi sopra Argenta di Giovanni Frigerio (the word Frigerio crossed out) on spine.

Script

Written in a cursive script, probably by Francesco Leopoldo Bertoldi (pencil note on f.7r states the manuscript is autograph).

Provenance

• Possibly formerly owned by Giovanni Frigerio (inscription on spine).
   

Genres

• Codices
• Histories
• Manuscripts, Italian--18th century
• Manuscripts, European

Licenses

• Text

  This description is ©2016 University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  All referenced images and their content are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/