The volumes housed in the Library’s premises on Via Po before the 1904 fire amount to approximately 4,100 and bear on their spine or endpapers the eighteenth-century label of the Royal Library (two rampant lions supporting the crowned coat of arms of the House of Savoy), or a white paper label outlined in blue with a signature composed of a Roman numeral followed by an Arabic numeral, or even a late nineteenth-century paper label, but with a handwritten indication of the old eighteenth-century signature. Furthermore, many of these volumes also bear the indication “duplicate” written in pencil or brown ink on the binding or title page. Other volumes, lacking additional indications, may have come from the Library’s old branches on Via Plana and Via Roma.

Spanning from 1535 to the 1880s, the collection is characterized by a prevalence of eighteenth-century works printed in Paris and Turin. Notably, five volumes once belonged to lawyer Giovanni Michele Perini of Valperga, whose extensive library was acquired by the Municipality of Turin in 1707 and later incorporated into the Royal University Library by King Vittorio Amedeo II’s decree in 1723.

Collections of the Library before 1904

Another significant collection comprises the books once owned by the esteemed physician Giacinto Pacchiotti (1820-1893) and works obtained from various dissolved ecclesiastical institutions, including a set of books marked with a monogram potentially interpreted as AV or AN on the title page.

Notably, Pacchiotti served as a professor of Surgical Pathology at the University of Turin from 1863, alongside roles such as chief physician at the Waldensian Hospital, city councillor, and hygiene assessor. His distinguished career culminated in his appointment as a Senator of the Kingdom of Italy in 1880. Following his passing, his extensive and valuable library, primarily sourced from an eighteenth-century collection once owned by the Gallo family, a lineage of physicians from Cuneo, was bequeathed to the Civic Library of Turin. Subsequently, it was transferred to the National Library the following year. Comprising over 970 titles published in Italy and Europe, the collection includes numerous miscellaneous collections of thesis dissertations and titles covering various medical disciplines, ranging from ophthalmology to phlebology. Analysis of possession notes revealed that Pacchiotti likely acquired the oldest segment of the collection (approximately 80 volumes) from the Gallo family, subsequently expanding it throughout his lifetime. By examining the signatures on the spines, the original arrangement of the volumes was digitally reconstructed and then physically recreated, enabling consultation of the Pacchiotti Collection in its original layout as preserved in the libraries of the esteemed Turin physician.

The second group of texts consists of 720 volumes out of approximately 30,000 that significantly enriched the Library’s collections in the early nineteenth century following the dissolution of major monasteries and convents in Turin and its surrounding areas, as well as in locations like Vinovo, Testona, Novalesa, and Vicoforte. Many of these volumes feature a handwritten abbreviation, variously interpreted as “AV” or “AN,” on the title page, where the descending stroke of the letter “A” and the ascending stroke of the letter “V” or “N” coincide. The meaning of this abbreviation remains unknown, but it may correspond to a stamp applied by civil authorities at the time of the seizure of such works.

The AV or AN texts found in the 1046 perforated boxes date back to early times, ranging from 1528 to 1796, with a predominance of the seventeenth century. They are predominantly small in format, with bindings mostly in parchment, covering literary, historical, and scientific topics. The collection appears to have been carefully curated, featuring rare and curious texts, including those on etiquette, the history of women scientists, chivalric treatises, and a significant portion dedicated to the sciences and astronomy.

Other volumes from suppressed conventual institutions in the nineteenth century, lacking the AV or AN abbreviation on the title page, have also been associated with these works. In particular, there are 70 works from the Convent of San Domenico in Chieri and 90 volumes from various religious institutions.

The works from Chieri bear various identification marks: on the spine, a paper label with Dominican symbology (a globe surmounted by a cross and a dog with a torch in its mouth, surrounded by one branch of palm and one of intertwined lilies); on the front pastedown, handwritten or paper ex-libris labels stating: “Bibliotechae Conventus S. Dominici Cherii”; and on the title page, handwritten possession notes.

Among the volumes of ecclesiastical provenance, notes from about ten ancient owners have also been identified, among which stands out the name of the architect Guarino Guarini (1624-1683), who owned an edition of the 1615 “In astrologos coniectores libri quinque,” later preserved at the library of San Lorenzo in Turin and subsequently transferred to the National Library (coll. Sigla AV.359).