Bibliographic patrimony
The collection inherited from Padre Martini constitutes one of the most prestigious
collections of music repertory printed between the 1500's and 1700's because
of its incunabula, valuable manuscripts, opera libretti, and also for the
unique collection of autographs and letters, which are the result of the correspondence
Martini painstakingly kept with eminent people, scholars, and musicians of
that time.
Saved from the Napoleonic confiscations due to the intervention of Stanislao
Mattei, Martini's disciple and successor, the valuable bibliographic patrimony
was donated to the Liceo musicale di Bologna in 1816. The Liceo had been founded
in 1804 at the ex-convent of the Agostinians in the church of San Giacomo
Maggiore. The library increased considerably throughout the 1800's and the
first half of the 1900's, thanks to the amount of materials produced from
the didactic activity of the Liceo (famous students of the Liceo included
Rossini, Donizetti, and Respighi while directors included Mancinelli, Martucci,
and Busoni). The library also increased because of the valuable items and
rare volumes that were acquired by Gaetano Gaspari, who was nominated librarian
in 1855.
Gaspari directed the library for many years with a unique zeal and knowledge,
and, after many years of hard work and constant effort, he was able to organize
and card-catalogue all the library material in an excellent way (and from
this came the posthumous publication the Library Catalogue of the Liceo Musicale
di Bologna which bears his name and is now also available online).
In 1942, when the Liceo musicale was transformed into a state institution
- Regio Conservatorio di Musica - the Comune di Bologna chose to maintain
ownership of Padre Martini's bibliographic patrimony and the attached picture
gallery. The Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale was founded in 1959 in order
to conserve and make the most of the bibliographic patrimony and the portrait
gallery.
In 2004, the Civico Museo Bibliografico Musicale was re-named Museo internazionale
e bilioteca della musica with the inauguration of the museum's location in
Palazzo Sanguinetti in the historical center of Bologna. The institute is
currently sub-divided in two sites: a large selection of volumes, paintings,
and musical instruments is exhibited in the museum rooms of Strada Maggiore
34 (Palazzo Sanguinetti) while the majority of the bibliographic material
is available to view at Piazza Rossini 2 (the ex- Convent of San Giacomo)
in rooms connected to the G.B. Martini Conservatory of Music.
