Ernesto Monaci, Chair in Comparative Neolatin Studies (1875) and later Rettore at Sapienza (1885-1886), was one of the founders of the Scuola Storica, and of Romance Philology as a discipline. He established the Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo and the Società Romana di Storia Patria; he founded the Rivista di filologia romanza, the Giornale di filologia romanza, and Studj romanzi - periodicals which have defined the discipline, (Studj Romanzi, is still published and several members of our research unit sit on its Editorial Board), and the Archivio paleografico italiano (1882), the first collection of fac-similes of script which initiated modern palaeographical studies. Monaci was also member of Rome¿s City Council (1895-1902) and consultant for the Ministry of Education in matters regarding the definition of the new school curriculum and of the policies to be implemented to ensure an effective teaching throughout the country of the new national language.
His personal Archive preserves 68 folders containing 1706 documents ¿ private annotations, working notes, and letters exchanged, among others, with Meyer, Paris, Ascoli, Pirandello, Croce, Gentile, Labriola, and the Minister for Education Coppino, as well as his rich library, are preserved by the Department I direct. The Archive, in particular, preserves 68 folders containing 1706 documents ¿ private annotations, working notes, and letters exchanged, among others, with Meyer, Paris, Ascoli, Pirandello, Croce, Gentile, Labriola, and the Minister for Education Coppino. The project aims at the publication in digital form, with thorough commentaries, of a significant selection of Monaci¿s working papers and of his correspondence.
Our project aims at making available materials hitherto unknown and unpublished in digital format, which will allow for their interrogation in ways traditional publication does not allow. It is an innovative project in both contents and methodology. On the one hand it will make available to the scholarly community new primary sources, arranged along the lines of research indicated above, and secondly the specific nature of the documents being edited, private papers and letters exchanged with the most prominent personalities of his time and age, belongs to a field of enquiry on the `scritture private¿ which has yielded important results. Digital editions ¿ thanks to the tagging they allow in documents ¿ is particularly suited for the publication of such materials. Epistularies, due to their very nature describe a network of people, places, institutions and texts. Moreover they are usually bulky, which makes publication in print often problematic. Correspondence extends along time, in a bidimensional fashion to which digitalization offers a third and fourth dimension of depth bringing to the fore the network of correspondents and people involved in the communication, and the works (manuscripts, books) discussed, as well as the placed `mapped¿ by the letters and the institutions involved. All these dimensions can be tagged and codified,annotated and processed and thus identified by readers.
The research unit will investigate new possibilities in visualizing the data as in ¿Mapping the Republic of Letters¿ at Stanford University, through the analysis of big data tank to the tools provided by codification and semantic web. The main objective of the project is to disseminate and value the great wealth of materials preserved in the Archive along three lines of action:
1) An exhibition to be held in January-February 2019, curated by Proff. Punzi, Cannata and Marinetti, which will accompany visitors through the exhibition of unpublished an often unknown documents held in the Archive along the main events relating to Monci¿s private, scholarly and public life. The exhibition will open the Conference Ernesto Monaci 1918-2018: la fondazione della Filologia romanza e della paleografia in Italia, to be held from 18 to 20 december 2018 at the Archivio Storico Capitolino.
2) The Conference promoted by the Dipartimento di Studi Europei, Americani e Interculturali in cooperation with the Società Italiana di Filologia Romanza (SIFR) will see presentations by approximately 20 speakers from avrious Italian universities and Archives.
3) The International Conference Ernesto Monaci 1918-2018. Lo studioso nel tempo, will take place on 30-31st January 2019 at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, and will see participants discussing in detail Monaci¿s different areas of scholarship: Palaeography, Linguistics, Textual Editing, Popular Traditions, and his achievements as Professor, Chancellor of Italiy¿s main university. Both conferences will be held in cooperation with instituions which are partners in our project, as is the Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo, The conference at the Accademia dei Lincei will also benefit of the patronage of the Ministero dei Beni e delle Attività Culturali.
The project is also designed to accommodate the needs of the so-called Third Mission, a requirement for public institutions. It entails a commitment to the dissemination of the advancements of scholarship to be shared with the wider community, serving its cultural advancement. The exhibition in particular, and our partnership with the Comune di Soriano nel Cimino, Monaci¿s birthplace is especially designed to this end. The Comune di Soriano has been very active in promoting ¿ especially in schools ¿ activities to keep alive memory of Monaci¿s work and inheritance and is aiming at setting up a ¿Museo diffuso¿ in town in coincidence with the exhibition at the Archivio di Stato. The idea is to design integrated itineraries to illustrate Monaci¿s work for the general public, involving the Archivio di Stato where the main exhibition i sto be held, the Monaci Archive at our Department and the Istituto Storico Italiano per il Medio Evo.