Pier Candido Decembrio e i suoi libri: primi appunti

Pier Candido Decembrio, Milanese humanist dead in 1477, deeply marked the cultural history of Milan and of Lombardy in his age. His production included essays, poetical works, translations from Greek to Latin and from Latin to Italian vernacular. He himself devoted to establish three different collections of his letters which are of paramount importance to understand the transmission of texts and ideas in the XVth century. Many of the books he studied and annotated with his marginal notes have survived till today: they reveal his own scholarly interests. Decembrio not merely transcribed or annotated his own manuscripts, but he also used to add his marginalia on other books, because he acted as cultural adviser of many prominent lay and ecclesiastical people of his age. He also took personally care in spreading his own works: sometimes, copies of Decembrio’s books sent to friends and patrons are marked with his notes to correct passages and add quotations. This essay will provide a complete picture of Pier Candido Decembrio’s library and his scholarly method through close examination of the manuscript Milan, Ambr. R 88 sup., an autograph miscellaneous zibaldone where he collected Greek and Latin texts, ancient classics and modern works. In this manuscript he also wrote a list of texts he considered of capital importance for cultural training in his age; at the same time, texts copied in Ambr. R 88 sup. highlight the transmission of some Latin classics during the age of Humanism.