Lorenzo Mehus and the History of Philology: Archive, Books, Letters (PHILOMEHUS)

The PRIN 2022 PNRR Project PhiloMehus project aims at the study and digitisation of 29 autograph manuscript volumes by Lorenzo Mehus (1717-1802) kept at the Biblioteca Riccardiana in Florence, which have remained almost unexplored for over two centuries. The volumes (containing excerpts of manuscripts and ancient books, drafts, excerpts and inventories of entire Florentine book collections, editorial projects, critical-methodological reflections) are of extreme scientific importance for Humanistic Philology and Italian Literature: not only did Mehus propose the first systematic study of Florentine Humanism, which took the form of research and editions that have yet to be established, but his exceptional knowledge of the size and history of 18th-century Florentine libraries placed him at the centre of a dense network of relations with the intellectuals of the time, who turned to him for information about the city's library heritage.

CUP: B53D23029130001