Abstract

Cassiano dal Pozzo (!#++-!&#$), member of the Accademia dei Lincei and art collector is famous for his “Museo Cartaceoµ. Rather less well-known is his library which, with its ",))) volumes, was an exceptional case among the private libraries of !$th C. Rome. By looking closely at one of the inventories that have come down to us, the article aims to show how the study of a library raises a series of questions that not only have to do with the personal profile, past and cultural position of its creator, but also with the trends, conflicts, interests and developments of the political, social and cultural context in which the undertaking was realized. In this particular case, Dal Pozzo’s library can provide scholars with many opportunities for reflection on the relationship between books and the cultural debates of the time, on the intellectual networks connected to this relationship in Rome during the crucial years of Urban VIII’s pontificate when control and repression by censorship does not seem to have completely impeded the circulation of knowledge that could still connect the pope’s city with the modern world.