Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/331

 VATICAN

289

VATICAN

)iversa Cameralia 253

upplicat ionos 701 1

.atoran Volumes of Uegisters 2161

)ataria Briefs 850

■eta Con.'iistorialia 114

Nunciatures: —

I. Germania 709

3. Francia 615


 * . Spagna 439

1. Polonia ; 382


 * . Portogallo 204

f. Inghilterra 18


 * . Genova 10

1. Venezia 360

i. Napoli 411

I. Colonia 297

1. Monaco di Haviera 49

1. Paei 60

1. Svizzera 322

). Firenze 185

). Savoia 281

J. Avignone 344

r. Fiandra 194

5. Malta 165

t. Bologna 317

I. Ferrara 104

r. Romagna 76

■. Urbino. . 42

etters of cardinals 189

etters of bishops and prelates 380

etters of princes and titled persons 277

etters of private individuals 315

etters of military men 79

aria Miscellanea 2051

iblioteca Pio 300

" Carjiegna 200

" Bolognetti 340

" Konconi 20

raranii)i papers 251

onf alonieri manuscripts 89

egistro Dandini 6

•e carilate S. Sedis erga Gallos 60

vvisi 124

arnesiane papers 20

orghese archive 2000

oUe e Bandi 80

The abo\e-named collections thus include in the jgngatc 35, (XM) volumes in round numbers. Of loose irchment and paper documents, letters, and similar ipers there are 120,000 — a fairly trustworthy esti- late. Conse{(uently, although the collections already i'cessible by no means reach the expectations which ive been entertained regarding the extent of the ■chives, it is yet evident that the suiiply of materials

extraordinarily great. A great proportion of the Dlumes are in the largest folio form and of unusual lickness. The contents of the volumes are of great riportance, ina-smuch as the questions treated are ' vast interest. All these considerations render the scret Archives of the Curia by far the most impor- mt archives in the world. Other collections not lentioned by Brom have been acquired in recent mes. From the Santini effects 200 volumes of Acts r the Dataria were purchased in 1909. On 13 April, )10, a number of parchment documents were ac- jired from a familv in Terni. The historically fa- lous scheme of Curial reform from the pen of Car- inal Sala (under Pius VII) came into the possession ' the archives on IS June, 1910. On 15 December, )10, the Holy Father presented three volumes which •e registered under Malta 124 A, 124 B, and Arm. ., vol. 178. On the same date a certain Santarelli 3nated five volumes treating of the College of r'riters of Briefs, and on 25 February, 1911, all the ipers of Cardinal Mattel passed into the possession ' the archives. In conclusion, it must be remarked XV.— 19

that the Registers of Briefs, mentioned above (a, iv), have not passed definitively into the possession of the archives, but have only been dejjosiled there; while the Indices, without which the use of the former is scarcely possible, have been again withdrawn. Those engaged in research must, therefore, apply to the archivist of Briefs, one of the officials in the Secre- tariate of State.

(3) The Administration of the Archives. — The scientific management of the archives is entrusted to a cardinal with the title of archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives. All economical questions, such as the salaries of the officials and the ex-jienditure neces- sary from time to time, are referred to the Prefecture of the Apostolic Palaces. The archives have, there- fore, no regular budget for exiienditure. The practical administration is entrusted to the assistant archivist, who issues all instructions to the other officials. He is assisted by a secretary, who, besides fulfilling other duties, suppfics information concerning research work and other scientific quiTtfitn. Five writers (scriplorcs) are engaged on the making of inventories and the superintendence of all transcripts to be dispatched to scholars dwelling outside Rome. To these officials is also entrusted the administration of certain im])ortant sections of the archives. The work-room is placed under the charge of two custodians (custodes), of whom one is the director of the .Scuola Paleografica of the archives. Of the five bidetli, or servants, one is capo sala, that is, it is his special task to regi.ster the number of the manuscript required, to deliver it to the student, and to recene it back at the conclusion of the period of study. For the repair and rebinding of injured volumes and the restoration of documents two rislauralori have been appointed. .4 special clerk is employed exclusively with the pasting on of the number labels and with the pagination of all the codices which previously were %vithout page or folio numbers. Finally, there is a porter who watches over the entrance door in the Torre dei Quattro Venti.

Besides the work-room, the office of the assistant archivist, and the old work-room, fifty rooms (in- cluding a large number of very extensive halls) are under the charge of the administration. The sixty places (usually all occupied) in the work-room can be increased to eighty to accommodate an unusually large body of investigators. In exceptional cases, women are permitted to study in the archives. The working year extends from 1 October to 27 June. During the working year 1909-10, 6018 application forms for volumes were received; during the year 1910-11 only 4800. The difference is due to the fact that since October, 1910, it has been allowed to apply for two or even three successive manuscripts on the same form — a privilege which was not previously allowed. The last inventory was made in July, 1910.

(4) History. — Concerning the earliest attempts to create archives in the Vatican, the reader is referred to the work of the present WTiter on the Camera Col- legii Cardinaliiun (1898), which treats also of the crea- tion of an archive of the Sacred ('oUege. In the years 1611-13 Paul V had the present archive buildings constructed by the cardinal librarian, Bartolomeo Cesi; these are .situated at the western narrow side of the Salone Sistino, the hall of state built by Sixtus for the library. The same i)ontiff devoted large sums to the perfecting and repair of the materials. This Secret .\rchive of the Vatican was from the very be- ginning regarded .as an administrative institution for the fai'ililalion of Curial affairs. Consequently, it was so planned as to answer the needs it was intended to fill. When subsequently, during the heated literary warfare against the Protestant mnovations, it became necessary to make the collected trejvsures accessible to the great historians of that age, it lost nothing of its original character. In his work, "Co.stituzione dell' archivio Vaticano e sue primo indice sotto ii Ponti-