There are four collections of 16th to early 19th-century books, all of which arrived in the DRL from known sources: either the old Collegium Ragusinum or one of the noble Ragusan families. They collectively have 10.377 volumes of books printed in the famous European centers (Venice, Rome, Antwerp, Paris, Lyon, Frankfurt, Basel …). These books cover a range of topics from all fields of human knowledge: philosophy, literature – from Greek and Roman classics onwards, religion, history, medicine, sciences, art, geography, architecture etc. They were written in Latin, Italian, French, German, Old Slavic and a few other languages, and are a testament of a wide range of cultural and scientific interests of our ancestors. This collection is indeed priceless not only because of its size but also content.
These four collections are called: Antiqua, Collegium Ragusinum, Pozza-Katić, and Natali-Pozza-Sorgo. Two more collections have been sorted and catalogued recently: The Collection of librettos from the legacy of Luka Drobac, and the Varia collection.
Collection Pozza-Katić, one of the last remaining aristocratic family libraries, was purchased in 1965. It contains 1.356 volumes.
Collection Antiqua was formed by selecting the oldest books among those donated to the library by numerous Ragusan families and individuals. Among the most valuable items are Misal hruacki printed by bishop Šimun Kožičić Benja in 1531; De institutione bene vivendi per exempla sanctorum by Marko Marulić in 1506, and quattro libri dell'architettura by Andrea Palladio from 1570, perhaps the most influential tractate in the history of architecture. There is also a rare reprint of this first edition published in 1766 in Venice. The collection Antiqua has 4002 volumes.
The Collection Collegium Ragusinum contains a part of the extremely valuable collection from the library of the former Jesuit college, which was active in Dubrovnik until 1773, and was a respectable educational institution for many of the Dubrovnik’s famous citizens. After the Jesuit order was discontinued, the library remained in the school which changed names and governors until the 1944 when it was given to the Dubrovnik library. It has 5256 volumes.
The core of this collection was originally the private library of its founder, father Marin Gundulić which contained several books by his famous grandfather Ivan Gundulić. After him, many families and individuals, bequeathed their private collections to the Jesuit library.
The catalogue of Collegium Ragusinum collection, on library cards, has been scanned and transcribed, and can be found on the ZDUR digital platform.
The Varia Collection included over 1800 volumes of books, and it was formed by selecting all titles from the existing general collection as well as all anonymously donated books which are older than 1808 (the end of the Dubrovnik Republic). The books were first listed and given signatures in 1999, and after adding newly received donations it was moved from the villa Skočibuha and stored in the Bassegli-Caboga palace. The books also range from 16th to 19th century, and the oldest is De vita duodecim caesarum by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus from the year 1520. The collection is being catalogued, and the complete list is available here. <link>
Collection Natali-Pozza-Sorgo was added in 2013 when it was purchased from the descendant of the Dubrovnik family Natali-Pozza-Sorgo. The collection has 213 volumes. This collection has been catalogued and can be found in the CROLIST Union Online Catalogue, and the CROLIST Dubrovnik Research Library OPAC.
All of the above 5 collections consist exclusively of books printed between 1501 and 1850.
The Collection of librettos from the legacy of Luka Drobac
Luka Drobac (1812-1876), a pharmacist from Dubrovnik, gathered a large number of librettos of operas which were largely performed in Italy. The collection contains 733 titles bound in 59 volumes and is the largest collection of librettos in Croatia. There are 716 librettos, 6 ballets and one drama. The oldest libretto dates from 1714, and the most recent ones are from the 1870s. All the titles have been catalogued in the CROLIST Union Online Catalogue, and the CROLIST Dubrovnik Research Library OPAC. Most of the libretto authors are Italian, such as Felice Romani, Gaetano Rossi and Luigi Romanelli, and there are a few well-known names such as Pietro Metastasio and Apostolo Zeno. Particularly interesting titles are the libretto for I Giuochi d’Agrigento from the opening of Venetian theatre La Fenice in 1792, and booklets with librettos from Verdi’s premieres in the Milanese Scala.