The Biblioteca Generale Carmelitana had the pleasure of participating in the Study Day “Describing Incunabula”, organised by the Department of Humanities of the University of Catania, as part of the PRIN 2020 project: “MeMo: Memory of Montecassino”.
The meeting, sponsored by the library itself, along with SISBB, AIB Sicilia, and the Society of Homeland History for Eastern Sicily, took place on October 11th at the Benedictine Monastery in Catania and concerned the study and cataloguing projects of important Italian incunable collections.
The cataloguing work of incunabula, recently undertaken by the General Carmelite Library, was illustrated by Rosa Parlavecchia (University of Salerno) and Sara Bischetti (General Carmelite Library) and provided an opportunity to disseminate knowledge of the oldest library heritage housed there.
News
The General Archive and Libraryof the Carmelite Order on Academia.edu
The General Archive and Library of the Carmelite Order have recently joined the portal Academia, with the aim of sharing and disseminating among scholars, both religious and secular, the numerous publications (monographs, essays, and articles) that have emerged in recent years from research conducted in the Archive and Library. The various studies have been published by Edizioni Carmelitane, the publishing house of the General Curia of the Carmelite Order and the Institutum Carmelitanum.
The broader aim was also to raise awareness of the Carmelite Archive and Library as institutions that are not only ecclesiastical but also cultural, integrating them within the international scientific community for potential future collaborations and projects.
The eighth edition of the Research Grant, in memory of Fr. Emanuele Boaga, announced by the General Archive of the Carmelite Order, has been awarded to Dr. Antonella Dejure, who will carry out a study entitled: The correspondence of Carmelite nuns from the monasteries of Saint Gabriel the Archangel of Capua and the Most Holy Saviour of Capri to Father Serafino Maria Potenza (1697-1763): regest, edition, historical and linguistic study of the documentation preserved in the General Archive of the Carmelite Order..
We hope that this work will be an opportunity not only to help strengthen the Carmelite Order's identity, but also to engage an international audience, through a theme of global interest such as female correspondence.
Sono attualmente in corso i lavori di restauro di quattro libri liturgici della Biblioteca Generale Carmelitana. Si tratta di corali e antifonari in pergamena, di dimensione atlantica, manoscritti e miniati: quindi, di grande valore per il nostro patrimonio librario.
Vista l’importanza del progetto, siamo andati in visita presso il laboratorio del restauratore Alessandro De Cupis, dove abbiamo potuto osservare le fasi dei lavori, che vi mostriamo in questi scatti.
The Treasures of the Library
Un libro pop-up del XVI secolo
Oggi vogliamo presentarvi uno dei primi esempi di libri animati, o libri pop-up, in cui ci siamo imbattuti durante l’attività di catalogazione del nostro fondo antico. Si tratta di una cinquecentina, stampata a Lione nel 1567, contenente la Sfera dell’astronomo e matematico Giovanni Sacrobosco, il trattato di astronomia più diffuso nel Medioevo, soprattutto in ambito universitario. Il volume mostra, infatti, numerose illustrazioni tridimensionali raffiguranti il sistema solare, finalizzate a estendere e completare la trattazione dell’autore.
Nell’immagine, estrapolata da una pagina del volume, vedete riprodotta una volvella lunare, uno strumento che permetteva di conoscere la fase, l’età e la costellazione in cui si trovava la Luna. Questa, composta da più dischi cartacei sovrapposti, era fissata alla pagina sottostante attraverso un perno, che permetteva la libera rotazione di ciascun disco intorno all’asse centrale.
Events
Proposta didattica
Quest’anno, per la prima volta, Archivio e Biblioteca Generali hanno pensato di offrire alle scuole di tutti gli ordini e gradi una proposta didattica, che va dalla visita guidata ai laboratori specifici su documenti e libri antichi.
Round table “Missionary Archives and Linguistic-Cultural Interactions”
On 11 July 2024, the General Archive of the Carmelite Order took part in the round table discussion ’Missionary Archives and Linguistic-Cultural Interactions”scheduled as part of the conference days “Mapping and Translating Spaces, Cultures and Languages Experiences Connected to Empires and Missions (1500-1700)”. The event, promoted by the Institute of History of the Mediterranean Europe – CNR and the Department of European, American and Intercultural Studies of Sapienza University of Rome, took place at the headquarters of the National Institute of Roman Studies on the Aventine Hill.
The speakers at the round table represented various ecclesiastical archives and presented documentary material relating to religious missions within the Portuguese Empire in the early modern period, illustrating some examples of linguistic mediation between friars from Europe and indigenous communities in South America, Africa, and Asia.
Present were: Simona Serci for the General Archive of the Carmelite Order; Flavio Belluomini for the Historical Archive ‘de Propaganda Fide’; Axel Alt for the General Archive of the Discalced Carmelites; Festo Mkenda, S.J. for the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu; Patrizia Morelli for the Archive of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin; Andrés Gómez Rozo, O.S.A. for the General Archive of the Augustinians.
The moment was fruitful not only for the archivists, who were able to share the specificities and analogies between their archives, but also for the scholars present (historians, linguists, art historians, anthropologists, etc.), who greatly appreciated this virtual journey through the sources.
THE TREASURES OF THE LIBRARY
Work in progress: the incunabula of the General Library of the Carmelites
We are pleased to inform you that the Carmelite General Library has recently begun the cataloguing of its incunabula, with the aim of producing a printed catalogue, published by Viella and included in the editorial series “Incunaboli”, directed by Marco Palma.
The catalogue, whose importance also lies in the fact that it is the first volume in the series to examine the incunabula held in a Roman library, will be edited by Sara Bischetti, librarian at the Biblioteca Generale Carmelitana, and Rosa Parlavecchia, lecturer in Elements of Book History at the University of Salerno.
The initiative is part of a broader objective aimed at enhancing the library's book heritage, starting with its oldest collections, as well as promoting and disseminating knowledge of the Carmelite Order.
While awaiting the catalogue's publication, the project's initial findings will be presented at the Study Day “Describing Incunabula,” scheduled for 11 October 2024 at the University of Catania.
COMMUNICATIONS
The Director's Greeting
Dear readers,
With the summer closure of the General Archive and Library, I am leaving my post as director to undertake a new mission, after nine years as General Archivist and two and a half years as General Librarian.
It has been an exhilarating experience of learning, collaboration, and challenges to be faced. When I was entrusted with this work, I carried with me the dream of making the Archive and, subsequently, the Library places for meeting and exchanging ideas, research, and projects. Places where people can come together in an atmosphere of welcome and friendship, with the Carmelite community of the Sant'Alberto International Centre as their natural environment. And thanks to a wonderful team effort, this has been achieved. If I were to encapsulate my experience over these years in one word, I would certainly say it is Relationships.
We have endeavoured to nurture relationships at multiple levels. The immediate one was in reference to our rich archival and library heritage, which we treated not so much as a deposit to be guarded, but as the living reality of an institution, with its eight hundred years of history, which still tells its story and wishes to make itself known. Therefore, we not only set about creating or improving conservation and research systems (inventories, catalogues, digitisation, restorations), but we also dedicated ourselves to promoting studies on this heritage through annual research grants, project collaborations, and internships. Aware that our heritage belongs to everyone, we have worked to publicise both what we have inherited and our initiatives through various social channels, conferences, study days, and publications. Finally, we were accompanied by the other realisation that the Order's heritage is part of a much broader cultural heritage and that only through collaboration with other institutions, similar or otherwise, can more effective objectives be achieved. And so we have forged significant relationships with individuals and bodies within the Order, including at an international level, while at a national level with the Italian Episcopal Conference, the Ecclesiastical Archival Association, and the Order of the Servants of Mary.
Thanks to research and the obtaining of financial resources from the CEI, the Italian Ministry of Culture, and other channels, not to mention the indispensable contribution of the Order, it has been possible to bring all of this to fruition. Of course, there is still much to be done, but I believe that in recent years we have set the direction to follow, and the next person to lead the General Archives and Library will achieve even more and to a higher standard. I thank you, our readers, who follow and support our activities, and I wish everyone a happy holiday!
Mario Alfarano
Closure
Our institutions will be closed for the summer break on the following dates:
General archive
Fri 2 Aug 2024 – Mon 26 Aug 2024
Carmelite General Library
Fri 2 August 2024 – Sun 25 August 2024.
We take this opportunity to wish youHave a good summer!
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Michele is a freelance archivist who has been working with our Archive for several years. He has recently completed the project of reorganising and cataloguing the Section BrotherhoodSo we thought we'd interview him and get his work known.
Michele, can you briefly describe what the Section consists of? Brotherhood?
The section Brotherhood It comprises 17 folders and 19 registers and volumes. The documentation covers a chronological period from the 16th to the 20th century and primarily preserves the acts relating to the establishment of Carmelite confraternities worldwide.
The purpose of the confraternities is to foster devotion to the Scapular and, where appropriate, to locally celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
According to tradition, the rite of the scapular's investiture became widespread following the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Saint Simon Stock, the Order's prior general, which is said to have occurred on 16 July 1251. On that occasion, it was revealed that whoever wore the scapular with devotion would go to Heaven on the Saturday following their death (the so-called “Sabbatine privilege”).
The need to collect documentation relating to confraternities arose when Pope Clement VIII, with the bull Whatever of 7 December 1604, decreed that small confraternities scattered throughout the world should be aggregated to the Roman archconfraternities, granting the superior generals and bishops the ability to establish new sodalities. For the Carmelites, the archconfraternities were those of Santa Maria in Traspontina, San Martino ai Monti, and San Crisogono.
For the establishment of a new fraternity, the parish priest or the interested community had to – and still must – submit a petition or memorial to the competent Prior General or Provincial Prior, with the consent of the local bishop attached. Once the correctness of the documents and procedure has been verified, the Order issues the decree of establishment to those concerned, registering this act in the general register.
Confraternities can also be established by episcopal decree. Unfortunately, for this type of confraternity, there is no trace in the General Archive, as the diocesan Curia is not obliged to transmit any documentation to the General Curia of the Order.
In Italy and Europe, confraternities suffered from the disastrous suppressions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. During the twentieth century, there were many attempts to revitalise devotion to the scapular; it would seem that finally, with the rediscovery of the role of the laity following the Second Vatican Council, the associative dimension of past centuries has been partly recovered.
Can I get an idea of the number of confraternities?
In the General Archive, or in the Section Brotherhood And then Commune of the Order, it has been possible for me to gather information on over 5,500 confraternities. The oldest documents predominantly concern Italy and other European countries, but with the missionary drive of the 19th and 20th centuries, devotion to the Scapular has also reached the most remote corners of the Earth.
During the drafting of the inventory, what methodological solutions did you have to adopt and what problems did you encounter?
In my work, I proceeded in stages: I started by creating an inventory list, to get an idea of the material I would then work on in more detail. Subsequently, I set up tables with which I created a summary inventory, identifying the location and year of establishment of each fraternity. Finally, I moved on to the detailed registration of each document, paper by paper, thus providing a tool that allows for the retrieval of information on dates, places, and people.
To compensate for the lack of documentation throughout the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century, I deemed it appropriate to proceed with a review of the general priors' registers, in which the erection dates of confraternities are briefly noted: this allowed me to reconstruct the number, geographical and chronological location, even of confraternities for which individual erection requests or other specific documentation have not been preserved.
Perhaps the only difficulty I encountered was my unfamiliarity with some languages (like French and Dutch), for which I had to rely on the support of friends and colleagues.
Certainly! During my work, I've noticed a few interesting things.
One curious observation is the incredible diversity in how people express the same idea across different languages. Even when conveying a simple concept, the sentence structure, common idioms, and even the emphasis can vary wildly. It's like looking at the same object from numerous different angles; the object remains the same, but the perspective is entirely unique.
Another thing I find fascinating is the tendency for certain concepts or themes to appear repeatedly in unrelated languages. For example, the idea of "home" or "family" often carries a very strong emotional weight and is expressed with particular warmth and sometimes complex familial terms across cultures. It suggests a universal human experience that transcends linguistic barriers.
Lastly, I've been struck by how much cultural nuance is embedded within language. Sometimes, a direct translation of a word or phrase can fall completely flat or even be misinterpreted because it misses the underlying cultural context or social implication. Understanding these subtleties is a continuous learning process and a key part of providing accurate and meaningful translations.
Among the first things that come to mind, I think of a letter from the parish priest of Upytė (a district of Panevėžys, in Lithuania), who exactly 100 years ago, on July 3, 1924, wrote to Rome for the erection of the confraternity: unfortunately, it could not be done sooner, because under Tsarist rule, which had ended a few years previously, all confraternities and congregations were forbidden, and bishops only had the faculty, granted to them by the Apostolic See, to enrol the faithful in all confraternities, without the burden of keeping registers of the enrolled members.
I am also thinking about the upheavals following the Second World War that led to the forced migration of entire peoples: I am referring to documents written by Polish parish priests in territories of present-day Ukraine, or by Germans in present-day Poland, or by Dalmatian priests who expressed themselves in Italian.
The documents from far-flung territories particularly caught my attention: for example, in 1900 some confraternities were established in New Caledonia, and in 1927 a confraternity was established in what is now Wuhan, China.
Also of great interest are numerous assents signed by bishops who later became blessed or saints, such as Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Archbishop of Milan, or Albino Luciani, Bishop of Vittorio Veneto, later Patriarch of Venice and finally Pope John Paul I.
The Archive's Curiosities
Torn stories
Sometimes amusing but regrettable events occurred in the convent, which have been passed down to us through documents preserved in our archive.
On 16 July 1639, the Prior General, Teodoro Straccio, sent a letter to Father Master Francesco Cristofori, Prior of Senigallia, urging him to resolve a dispute between the convent's sacristan, a brother of his order, and a gentleman from the city.
General Straccio wrote: “Mr. Hannibal Baldassino writes to me that, whilst one evening with his servant and others singing under the window of this father sacristan, the said father threw a large basin of water over them and, because the servant complained, saying what insolence that was, the father threw a half-brick at him, with the danger of killing him if it had hit him on the head. It has been suggested to the said Mr. Hannibal that the father sacristan committed this insolence at the command of Your Paternity, but he does not believe it. However, ensure that the aforesaid father sacristan makes amends to the said gentleman, as is fitting, otherwise I will remove him from this convent, nor should Your Paternity permit your friars to commit such insolences.”
We don't know how the matter was resolved, but one thing is for sure: to deserve the bucket of water and half a brick, the band of singers must have been truly tone-deaf!
Drawing by Emanuele Boaga, taken from: Torn pages, curious anecdotes about 17th-century religious figures from the letters of Teodoro Straccio, prior general of the Carmelites, collected and illustrated by JSEB, Rome 1980.
Events
Archivissima 2024
On the occasion of the national event Archivissima 2024 – The Archives Festival and Night, This year’s event, dedicated to the theme ‘#Passioni’, took place on Friday 7 June 2024 at the Sant’Alberto International Centre (Rome), featuring a round-table discussion entitled: «To suffer or to die». The symbolism of the heart in Carmelite female iconography.
Mario Alfarano, archivist and general librarian, discussed with art historian Ruggiero Doronzo and theologian Charlo Camilleri the spiritual and cultural meanings of the image of the heart in the lives and imaginations of some Carmelite mystics of the modern era, from Saint Teresa of Ávila to Saint Magdalene of Pazzi, and the Puglian venerable Rosa Maria Serio.
We are pleased to share some snapshots from the evening with you.
The event was streamed and is available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3JHYfRwesw
Research Grants
Research grant in memory of Fr. Emanuele Boaga 2024
We remind you that the deadline for submitting applications for the Research Call announced by the General Archive of the Carmelites (2024, VIII edition) is irrevocably set for 31st July 2024. The package containing the application form and the project can be sent by registered mail or certified email (PEC) or delivered by hand at the Archive.
From the 6th to the 9th of June, cultural initiatives of the event will take place across Italy. Archivissima 2024 – The Archives Festival and Night, dedicated to the theme #Passion. For this occasion, the General Archive and Library of the Carmelites have organised a round table titled: «To suffer or to die». The symbolism of the heart in Carmelite female iconography.
Together with Ruggiero Doronzo, an art historian, and Charlo Camilleri, a spiritual theologian, we will discuss the symbolism of the heart in female Carmelite mysticism of the modern age (16th-18th centuries), starting from its representation in the chalcographic engravings held at the General Archives of the Carmelite Order, with special reference to the figures of Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, and the venerable Rosa Maria Serio.
The event will take place on 7 June 2024, at 18:30, at the Sant'Alberto International Centre, via Sforza Pallavicini 10, Rome.
Events
Incunabula of the Carmelite Library
On the occasion of the Days for the Valorisation of Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage, last May 14, 2024, at the General Carmelite Library, incunabula belonging to the Library's ancient collection were put on public display.
With the term incunabula or in the cradle – this refers to books printed using the movable type technique in the second half of the 15th century: due to the age and rarity of this type of book, the discovery and preservation of incunabula can be considered a truly significant event. For this reason, the Carmelite Library's collection represents a great material and cultural asset, to be valued and made known.
During the evening of 14 May, Dr Rosa Parlavecchia illustrated some particularly interesting specimens, recounting the history of the ancient book and the origin of printing, in the presence of attentive and intrigued visitors.
We are pleased to share some snapshots from the evening with you.
The curiosities of the AArchive
The caricature of Blessed Angelo Paoli
Within the Iconographic Collection of the General Archive of the Carmelite Order, a copy of a caricatured drawing is preserved, depicting the Carmelite friar Angelo Paoli (1642-1720). He was immortalised in front of the gate of the Roman convent of San Martino ai Monti, where he was accustomed to distributing bread and alms to the poor of Rome. Paoli, beatified in 2010, was known for his social commitment, particularly in assisting the needy and the sick.
The caricature, the original of which is preserved at the Vatican Apostolic Library, within the Latin Codex Ottobonianus 3113, was executed in ink by Pietro Leone Ghezzi (1674-1755), a famous Roman painter and caricaturist, who portrayed numerous picturesque characters of Baroque Rome, transmitting a visual memory of them to us.
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Nelle giornate dell’11-19 maggio 2024 in tutta Italia si svolgeranno numerose iniziative volte a valorizzare il patrimonio artistico e culturale degli istituti ecclesiastici. Per l’occasione anche l’Archivio e la Biblioteca generali dell’Ordine carmelitano organizzeranno visite guidate per mostrare il materiale documentario e librario ivi conservato. In particolare saranno esposti al pubblico e presentati gli incunaboli facenti parte del fondo antico della Biblioteca.
We will communicate the details again soon.
The Treasures of the Library
The Parthenice the second of Mantua
In the ancient holdings of the General Library of the Carmelites, a precious incunabulum printed in Venice on 14 July 1499 is preserved, containing the Parthenice the second o Chatarinaria del noto carmelitano Giovanni Battista Spagnoli, detto il Mantovano (1447-1516), che fu priore generale dell’Ordine dal 1513 al 1516. Il volumetto, di sole 44 carte e di piccole dimensioni, dopo la lettera dedicatoria in apertura, mostra una pagina incipitaria stampata in caratteri romani, con uno spazio bianco, accompagnato da una letterina “di guida” per il miniatore, che in un secondo momento – come accadeva per i coevi libri manoscritti – aggiungeva a mano l’iniziale di testo.
The presence of numerous marginal and interlinear annotations, added by a 16th-century owner, testifies to the extensive use this incunable was put to, for study and reading purposes, in times very close to its printing.
It is interesting to note, finally, the covering that characterises the binding, on a white cardboard support where text, in German, can be read, printed in Gothic script in two columns.
Carmelite heritage worldwide
Carmelite music in Poland and Italy between the 17th and 18th centuries
Il dottor Marek Bebak è uno storico della musica proveniente dalla Polonia e insegna all’Università Jagellonica di Cracovia. Nell’autunno del 2023 si è aggiudicato il settimo assegno di ricerca dell’Archivio generale dei carmelitani, intitolato alla memoria di p. Emanuele Boaga, e ha avviato un progetto di Musicologia, dal titolo Mapping the Musical Culture of the Carmelites in Europe in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Preliminary research on the basis of the collection of the General Archive of the Carmelite Order in Rome.
Marek has previously dealt with this subject, investigating Polish Carmelite archival and bibliographical sources and producing several publications on the topic. Now his attention has turned to Italy.
On the occasion of your stay in Rome, we asked you a few questions:
My research work involves developing and improving AI models, particularly large language models, to understand and generate human-like text. I focus on areas such as natural language processing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to make these models more effective, efficient, and accessible.
As a musicologist, I want to understand the ancient musical culture of the Carmelites, especially regarding the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Order was at its peak. Referring to various historical sources, i.e. manuscripts and musical prints, theoretical treatises, ancient books and archival documentation (chronicles, correspondence, reports, protocols), I seek to answer the following questions:
What type of music was heard in Carmelite churches and monasteries? In what situations was it used? Who performed it and who financed it? What instruments were available in Carmelite churches?
I also aim to analyse the musical works themselves, and to evaluate the compositional abilities of the Carmelites within the context in which they created them. I also prepare critical editions of musical works, to enable musicians to include these compositions in their concert repertoire and to record them on CD. Examining the documentation of many convents and provinces gives me a broader perspective: the opportunity to compare and evaluate the level of musical culture in different parts of Europe.
Which cultural institutions have you visited to pursue your research in Poland, and which are you consulting and will consult here in Italy?
Sia in Polonia che in Italia la situazione delle fonti è complicata e richiede ricerche presso varie istituzioni. Ciò è dovuto principalmente alla difficile storia dell’Europa. Molti materiali archivistici e bibliotecari sono stati distrutti o dispersi a seguito di incendi, inondazioni, guerre, spartizioni e dissoluzione dei beni ecclesiastici nel corso dei secoli XVIII e XIX.
The starting point of my work is the materials collected in the Carmelite archives, but many sources are currently also held in state and diocesan archives and libraries. My research on the musical culture of the Carmelites in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is based on materials that are currently scattered across Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and partly also in Germany, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. For example, in the State Archive of Modra (near Bratislava), Slovakia, I found a manuscript containing a composition by the Carmelite friar from Krakow, Telesfor Wikliński. This composition was included in the repertoire of the Piarist musical chapel in Podolinec. We have immortalised this and other compositions from the Polish Carmelite repertoire on the 2023 album “Flos Carmeli” (available on streaming services, including Spotify).
My research into the musical culture of the Carmelites in Italy presents the same issues: I began with the General Archive in Rome and in subsequent phases will access historical materials kept in state and ecclesiastical libraries and archives.
Parlando dei compositori e musicisti carmelitani che ho studiato, ci sono alcune curiosità che mi hanno particolarmente colpito. Innanzitutto, la loro capacità di integrare profondamente la spiritualità carmelitana nella loro musica. Non si trattava solo di comporre musica per occasioni religiose, ma di infondere i loro scritti con i temi della contemplazione, della ricerca di Dio e dell'ascesi, che sono centrali per l'ordine carmelitano. Questo si rifletteva nelle strutture musicali, nelle scelte armoniche e talvolta persino nei testi scelti.
Un'altra cosa affascinante è stata la rete di relazioni che questi musicisti mantenevano. Non erano isolati, ma interagivano con altri ordini religiosi, con le corti nobiliari e con gli ambienti musicali secolari. Questo scambio permetteva una circolazione di idee e stili, e l'adattamento della musica sacra a contesti diversi. Ho trovato incredibile come un monaco carmelitano potesse essere allo stesso tempo un compositore rispettato a livello internazionale, influenzando e venendo influenzato da correnti musicali più ampie.
Infine, la resilienza e la longevità di alcune tradizioni musicali all'interno dell'ordine. Nonostante i cambiamenti sociali, politici e persino le soppressioni degli ordini religiosi in certi periodi storici, la musica carmelitana spesso trovava modi per sopravvivere, a volte attraverso manoscritti conservati con cura, altre volte attraverso la trasmissione orale o l'adattamento a nuove forme. Questo testimonia l'importanza che la musica aveva come parte integrante della loro identità e della loro pratica spirituale.
Unlike other religious orders, such as the Jesuits, the Carmelite Order was not renowned for its musical culture: therefore, any information pertinent to this subject is of interest to me.
I was surprised that the number of musical chapels (vocal-instrumental) in Italy was lower than in Poland: indeed, I expected the organisation of Polish chapels to be modelled on the Italian one. For example: in the mid-17th century, in Krakow, at the Carmelite church, there was a large vocal-instrumental chapel, which could successfully perform both 1-4 voice compositions and large polychoral works (for 2 or 3 choirs); this chapel included many musicians, both Carmelites and lay people. Unfortunately, no musical material from it has survived, but we have library catalogues that list all the works the musicians had at their disposal. For comparison, in Rome, in the important Carmelite church of S. Maria in Traspontina, only three singers and an organist were employed at the time: it is possible that the musical environment for daily liturgy was more modest than in Krakow. However, for greater feasts (e.g. Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Saint Albert), again at S. Maria in Traspontina, the most illustrious musicians from the papal chapels of St. Peter's Basilica or the Lateran Basilica were invited. Inviting chapels from other churches was typical of this period, but during my research I would like to verify if the Carmelites had their own musical chapels in other Italian cities.
From sources gathered at the General Archive of the Carmelites, we know that there were many musicians in other centres, but so far I have not been able to identify their organisation. However, this does not mean that the musical culture of the Carmelites in Italy was modest in general. We have many descriptions of events during which wonderful music, composed by the Carmelites themselves, was performed, such as: Filippo Cristianelli, Giovanni Battista Tonnolini, Giuseppe Scarani, Girolamo Casati, Pietro Colombina, Lorenzo Penna, Elia Vannini. In every province of Italy there was at least one composer whose interesting musical works have been preserved. I hope that in the future we will know more.
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Tuesday 9 April 2024, at 4 p.m., at Roma Tre University, Department of Humanities, the volume will be presented Miracles and Benefits. Illness, Thaumaturgy, and Devotion in Licata and Sicily in the Early Modern Period (Carmelite Editions, 2021), produced through archival research.
The author will be in dialogue with Professors Paolo Broggio, Maria Chiara Giorda and Carla Noce, from Roma Tre University. The event will be introduced by Giovanna Brizi, Postulator General of the Carmelite Order.
Research Grants
AGOC Research Grant – Eighth Edition (2024)
As every year, the General Archive of the Carmelite Order has announced a selection for the awarding of a research grant, named in memory of Fr. Emanuele Boaga, who was the Order's archivist general for approximately thirty years.
Projects must be centred on historical, religious, philological, or archival research, starting from an analysis of the documentary heritage preserved in our Archive. The objective is to produce a scientific study based on the research undertaken (article, monograph, edition of sources, inventory, etc.), the publication of which will be evaluated by Carmelitan Editions.
The deadline for submitting applications is 31 July 2024.
For further details, please refer to the call for applications.
Le curiosità dell'’Archive
Autograph letter from the Mantuan
The Blessed Giovanni Battista Spagnoli, known as Mantuanus (1447-1516), a Carmelite humanist and poet, led the Mantuan Reform for a long period, later becoming Prior General of the Order in 1513. In the autograph letter of 28 August 1514, which we show you here, Mantuanus wrote to Nicolò Audet (1481-1562), who had become Provincial of the Holy Land, ordering him to travel to Cyprus, the seat of the aforementioned province, to take possession of it. Audet, in fact, was delaying his transfer from Venice, where he had resided until then. This is correspondence between two prominent figures in Carmelite history: a serving general, Mantuanus, and a future general, Audet, who ten years later would also be elected head of the Order.
Furthermore, the letter is also a relic, as it is personally signed by the blessed Mantovano.
Given its importance, the document was restored in 2018 by Dr. Eulalia Ramos, who made it legible and consultable again.
Alerts
Easter Closure
Our institutions will be closed for the Easter holidays on the following days:
General archive
From Tuesday 26th March to Tuesday 2nd April 2024
Carmelite General Library
from Tuesday 2 April to Friday 5 April 2024.
Cogliamo l’occasione per augurarvi A serene Easter!
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The General Archive participated with a panel at the 7th edition of “Hagiography Workshops”, promoted by the Italian Association for the Study of Sainthood, Cults, and Hagiography (AISSCA). The conference took place in Rome from 24 to 26 January 2024.
The panel's theme was: “Words and Images. The Life of Carmelite Mystics in the 17th and 18th Centuries”. Three papers were presented: “Carmelite Tertiary Women Through 17th and 18th Century Engravings” by Ruggiero Doronzo (University of Bari), “The Figure of the Tertiary Anna Geltrude Picca from Velletri Through the Words of the Carmelite Giuseppe Bartoli” by Anna Abdelhamid Serra (Institutum Carmelitanum), and “Hagiographic Accounts of Rosa Maria Serio in the Earliest Testimonies of Her Sisters” by Mario Alfarano, OCarm. (Director of the General Archive and Library).
The speakers presented the research they have carried out or are still conducting at our Archive.
The Treasures of the Library
An 18th-century Carmelite friar
The deposits of the General Carmelite Library currently hold around thirty liturgical manuscripts, consisting of antiphonaries, choir books, graduals, and missals, intended for the celebration of the Eucharist. These enormous volumes come from the old library collections of Santa Maria in Traspontina and date back to the 17th-19th centuries.
What we are showing you today is a Carmelite gradual from 1708, written on parchment, which features an elegant frontispiece at the opening, decorated with polychrome floral elements, and an incipit page characterised by musical notation and a four-line staff in red ink, accompanied by concise rubrics in a graceful and solemn Gothic script. [Photo 1].
The “Atlantic” dimensions of these volumes and their extensive use necessitated greater robustness and solidity of the structural framework, through the addition of metal elements, such as hobnails and corner pieces, on the binding boards, which also make them easier to position horizontally on shelves. However, as with most of them, the wear and tear of time is particularly evident on the spine of this precious gradual, which is now missing its covering and has exposed stitching. [photo 2].
Precisely by virtue of their better preservation, in the coming months some of these liturgical books will be the subject of specific restoration interventions, also aimed at a broader and more incisive enhancement, in view of future studies and research by a specialist user base.
PHOTO 1PHOTO 2
Carmelite heritage worldwide
The new Carmelite Heritage Room in Middletown
The Carmelite Province of St. Elias, USA (New York) has established the new Carmelite Heritage Hall at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Middletown, New York State.
This is a small museum where visitors can read historical documents from the Provincial Archive and old books, as well as admire works of art and religious objects, tracing the history of the SEL Province, which began way back in 1889 in Manhattan.
Currently, one of the display cases is hosting an exhibition on Saint Titus Brandsma, a martyr of the Nazi concentration camps, canonised in 2022, but the themed exhibitions in some display cases will change every two months to showcase different aspects of Carmelite history and its community in the United States of America.
The first edition of the Research Grant announced by the General Carmelite Library has been won by Dr Rosa Parlavecchia, who will carry out a study entitled Reconstruction of the Traspontina Library based on the ownership notes present in the manuscripts and ancient books of the Carmelite General Library.
We hope that this work will be an opportunity to bring to light the richness of the library heritage of the Traspontina convent, which in ancient times was the seat of one of the most important places of Carmelite study and formation.
Among the treasures of our archive, we have rediscovered the ancient recipe for Carmelite spirit, as devised by a certain Father Bernardo, presumably at the end of the 18th century. We know neither Father Bernardo's surname nor his belonging convent, but his amaro must have been greatly appreciated if his recipe made its way to the Carmelite General Curia.
To be able to reproduce it, procure the purest wine alcohol, lemon balm, sage and thyme herbs – with the recommendation that they are not dried, but very fresh, picked during their flowering season – orange peel, rosemary flowers, artichoke flavourings, cinnamon, nutmeg, also coriander, anise and nettle seeds. Let everything macerate for at least two days, stirring from time to time, then distil and drink… but in moderation!
Carmelite publications
Giovedì 18 gennaio 2024, presso il Centro Internazionale Sant’Alberto (Roma), è stato presentato il volume The activities of Father Serafino Maria Potenza (1697-1763) through archival documents, di Simona Durante, pubblicato da Edizioni Carmelitane (vedi ABiGOC20/2023).
Alla presentazione sono intervenuti padre Vincenzo Criscuolo, ofmcap, già relatore generale del Dicastero delle Cause dei Santi, il professor Luca Carboni, dell’Archivio Apostolico Vaticano, e l’autrice. Tra i numerosi partecipanti erano presenti il segretario monsignor Fabio Fabene, il sottosegretario Bogusław Stanisław Turek e altri membri del Dicastero.
We are pleased to share some snapshots from the evening with you.
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