LUIGI FERDINANDO MARSILI (1658-1730) E L'EDITORIA ERUDITA NELLA REPUBBLICA DELLE LETTERE TRA SEI E SETTECENTO

The research aims to investigate the epistolary network of Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658-1730), soldier, scientist and founder of the Institute of Sciences in Bologna. Marsili has been studied mainly in relation to his military and diplomatic activity and to his contribution to natural science. Nevertheless his role as an active member of the Republic of Letters between Seventeenth and Eighteenth century has been neglected by historiography. My research aims to fill this gap and to demonstrate the integration of Marsili in the european scientific community through the analysis of his epistolary connections with a large number of scientists and hommes de lettres. The consultation of the private archive of Marquis Bevilacqua Ariosti in Bologna, which conserves more than 6000 (almost forgotten) letters received by Marsili, was essential to achieve a deeper knowledge of these connections and to integrate the existing information, acquired through the materials held by the University Library of Bologna. In particular the letters exchanged with the editors of his scientific works represent an important starting point in order to understand Marsili’s position in the international book market in the early modern period. The epistolary documents allow, in conclusion, to design a quite new portrait of his activity as author and patron.