Celestial Images: Sphera Theorica Planetarum et Reliqua Astrologiae in the Libraria and Collection of Francesco Maria II della Rovere

Patrizia Principi is a PhD student in History of Art at Sapienza - University of Rome and currently an occasional student at the Warburg Institute. Her research is a part of a broader and fascinating project titled “Immaginare i Saperi” (Imagining Knowledge), conceived and coordinated by Massimo Moretti Professor of Iconography and Iconology at the University La Sapienza, with the collaboration of Dr. Daniela Fugaro, Director of the Biblioteca Universitaria Alessandrina in Rome. This ambitious project aims to reconstruct the imaginary of Francesco Maria II della Rovere (1549-1631), last Duke of Urbino, through his collections, starting from his famous Libraria. This is a very rich book collection founded in 1607 in Casteldurante to house more than 13,000 printed volumes, making up the so called ‘Fondo Antico’ of the Sapienza University Library, where they were transferred in 1667 according to the intentions of Pope Alexander VII. Specifically, the research here presented is dedicated to the reconstruction of the Duke’s celestial imagery starting from the “Scansia 44” (Shelf 44), also known as “Scansia delle Scienze” (Science Shelf), in order to show the Duke’s obsession with the dimension of Time in all its manifestations. The research therefore deals with the astral and temporal traces identified within the main and useful sources for the study of the Duke’s personality: his manuscript diary and the inventories of his goods and properties. Francesco Maria II constantly noted the time and the duration of his movements, showing a great attention about each celestial phenomenon. Moreover, between the 16th and 17th centuries, he lived the most fervent years of the scientific revolution, from the introduction of the Gregorian calendar to the discoveries of Galileo Galilei, with whom his librarians were in contact.