The founding of the Vallicelliana Library of Rome is closely linked to the figure of Filippo Neri and the Congregation of the Oratory. Established in 1565 and officially recognized by Gregory XIII in 1575 with the papal bull Copiosus in misericordia. The Oratorians had a special focus on books: according to the Rule, meals had to be accompanied by the reading and discussion of a religious text.
The first book collection consisted of the works owned by Filippo Neri, which passed into the Congregation’s patrimony upon his death in 1595.
The Vallicelliana Library is already documented in 1581 thanks to the testamentary legacy of Achille Stazio (Aquiles Estaço) in favor of Filippo Neri and the Congregation of the Oratory: 1700 printed volumes and 300 manuscripts.
To these initial collections were later added other donations, such as the Archive and part of the Library of S. Giovanni in Venere (1585); the library of Cardinal Silvio Antoniano, the books of Pierre Morin and those of the Oratorian Giovenale Ancina, bishop of Saluzzo (1604); the manuscripts coming from S. Eutizio, thanks to the intervention of Abbot Giacomo Crescenzi, and the collection of Father Antonio Gallonio, the first biographer of Filippo Neri (1605).
The peak cultural activity period of the Oratorian community in the 17th century is linked to the publication of the Annales Ecclesiastici by Cesare Baronio, the Roma sotterranea by Antonio Bosio edited by Father Antonio Severano, and the spread of the Musical Oratory, a form of spiritual entertainment beloved by Filippo Neri who considered music a fisher of souls.
In 1607, upon the death of Cardinal Cesare Baronio, part of his book collection was inherited by the Congregation’s library; in 1662 the Virgilio Spada collection arrived, consisting of coins, minerals, majolicas, and curiosities.
In 1669 the manuscript collection of the Greek intellectual Leone Allacci, custodian of the Vatican Library, was transferred to the Library, consisting of about 237 Latin and Greek manuscripts. Subsequently, the legacies of the Oratorian fathers Odorico Rinaldi, Giacomo Laderchi, Giuseppe Bianchini, heir of the scholar Francesco Bianchini, were acquired.
During the French occupation of Rome (1797-1799), the Library suffered, like other places, severe looting: in 1810, 49 relics were lost, partly recovered in the years 1837-38.
In 1874, following the law suppressing religious corporations, the Vallicelliana was transformed into a public law library; in 1876 the Liquidation Board of the Ecclesiastical Asset decided to divide the Congregation’s documents among the State Archive of Rome, the Congregation itself, and the Library.
