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Actualités Associazione Librai Antiquari d'Italia

ALAI and ILAB support the Summer School for Antiquarian Books at the Ugo da Como Foundation

02 octobre 2025
From 23 - 26 September 2025, the Fondazione Ugo Da Como in Lonato del Garda hosted the Luigi Nocivelli Summer School on “Il libro a stampa del XV secolo: dalla forma al catalogo” (The printed book of the 15th century: from form to catalogue). Organised by the Foundation together with the Centro di Ricerca Europeo Libro Editoria Biblioteca (CRELEB) of the Università Cattolica, the programme gathered a select group of students, researchers, librarians, and bibliophiles for four days of lectures, workshops, and visits.
Lonato Book School 2025

This year, ILAB proudly supported the school by awarding sponsorships to help students and early-career participants attend. Together with ALAI and other partners, ILAB contributed to bursaries that provided free accommodation in Lonato del Garda, ensuring wider access to this unique learning experience.

Gabriele Maspero, President of the Italian Antiquarian Booksellers Association, ALAI, writes: "ALAI is committed to supporting education and training in the antiquarian book trade, and we are proud to be associated with the Summer School at the Fondazione Ugo Da Como. This programme not only offers young scholars and professionals the opportunity to work directly with outstanding collections, but also benefits from the expertise of an exceptional faculty whose work we greatly admire and respect. Furthermore, ALAI’s collaboration is a way to connect the academic world with a high-quality trade, thereby enhancing the national bibliographic heritage and offering new career prospects.”

Lonato Book School 2025 2

Led by Prof. Edoardo R. Barbieri (Università Cattolica di Brescia), with contributions from Dr. Luca Rivali (Università Cattolica di Milano) and Dr. Eleonora Gamba (Università degli Studi di Milano), the programme offered direct engagement with the Foundation’s remarkable collection of over 400 incunabula. Sessions explored the materiality of 15th-century books: paper, watermarks, typefaces, inks, and illustrations, as well as bibliographical description, provenance, and the evolving historiography of incunabula studies. A final round table examined “The Future of Bibliography in the Digital Age.”

Participants also enjoyed guided visits to the Foundation’s historic spaces, including the Casa del Podestà and its extraordinary library.

The setting itself is of particular importance. The Foundation was established by Ugo Da Como (1869–1941), an Italian senator, bibliophile, and statesman, who transformed the Casa del Podestà into a cultural treasure house. His vision was to create a living collection and research centre for the study of early printed books. Today, thanks to the Foundation, his library of incunabula and rare works remains accessible to scholars, students, and the public, continuing his legacy of education and preservation.

ILAB is proud to have contributed to this initiative, which reflects our shared commitment to supporting scholarship, training, and international collaboration in the world of rare books.