Vatican Museums

The epigraphic collection of Cardinal Francesco Saverio de Zelada, dating from the eighteenth century, has been the object of long and systematic study, culminating in the publication of this volume, available in Italian, the latest in the series Inscriptiones Sanctae Sedis.

This unprecedented survey represents a fundamental integration to the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (CIL). It has also involved other important corpora, thanks to a cross-sectional examination. The results were numerous: the reconstruction of events relating to the formation and spread of the collection, up to its musealization, the study of the collection in the context of collecting in the eighteenth century, the analysis of support materials, the identification of hitherto unseen works and counterfeits and, the cornerstone of the volume, the cataloguing of the stone inscriptions, provided here in full.

The classification of the epigraphs was possible not only using classic cataloguing methods, but also thanks to a new software application for special indices, which enabled a dual reproduction, graphic and interpretative.
The volume concludes with a documentary appendix, a substantial bibliography, six analytical indices and black and white plates of the inscriptions.