Theological Stock
It is still impossible to define in detail the events that led to the establishment of the stock, as per the absence of any evidence in this regard. It’s possible to assume that it is, at its core, the library of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Pavia, abolished in 1797, to which the works of similar subject published in the first half of the XIX century were added. The collection, made up of nearly 7,000 volumes among which more than 1,000 sixteenth century books, is characterized by a strong thematic homogeneity: it exclusively relates to religious subjects, from theological treatises to studies of ecclesiastical law, from hagiographies to breviaries as well as summaries of Christian doctrine for schools. Numerous are the writings with a Jansenist influence.
The chronological extension of the material is extremely wide: the oldest script is Defensorium Montis pietatis contra figmenta omnia aemulae falsitatis, by Bernardino Busti, published in Milano by Uldericus Scinzenzeler in 1497 (location: M.N. 21 A 24); the more recent text are from the XIX secolo.
The stock is described in the alphabetically by authors and titles catalogue of anonymous works, tabbed, with a specific shelf mark (MN), available at the entrance of the Library.