The volume "Gli incunaboli e le cinquecentine degli Osservatori astronomici INAF" will be presented at the M. Hack Library of the Trieste Astronomical Observatory on April 16th at 4:00 pm, with the participation of Prof. Neil Harris, Prof. Fabrizio Bònoli and Dr. Emilia Olostro Cirella. The event is open to the public, subject to seat availability.
Laura Abrami, librarian at the Trieste Astronomical Observatory, is part of the group of editors of the volume., edited by Emilia Olostro Cirella, Laura Abrami, Giovanna Caprio, Francesca Perrone, Donatella Randazzo. This catalogue is the result of the census work of the ancient book heritage kept in the libraries of the Astronomical and Astrophysical Observatories of the National Institute of Astrophysics, and describes 227 printed editions of works published between 1478 and 1560.The volume represents a unique collection of scientific texts and offers various interpretations that allow for the in-depth study of different disciplinary fields, from the history of astronomy to the history of the scientific book in its countless facets. A bibliographic heritage that is still little known but of great interest, which deserves special attention both from professionals and from scholars and enthusiasts of astronomy.
From the preface by Prof. Marco Tavani, former President of INAF: "The conservation, protection and enhancement of this heritage is an institutional purpose of INAF of great importance ... To date, the INAF libraries conserve an extraordinary collection of 19 incunabula and over seven thousand ancient volumes that have been catalogued for the most part. It is important to note that this heritage is available to the public. Inside the digital showcase of the INAF Cultural Heritage portal "Polvere di stelle", it is possible to browse, in full text mode, a selection of the more ancient and most valuable historical and iconographic books owned by the Institution".
