Per uno studio dei falsi nel manoscritto inglese di Jacopo Valvasone di Maniago (1499-1570)

This paper aims to reconsider the manuscript by Jacopo Valvasone (1499-1570), formerly owned by the Earl of Leicester (now British Library, Additional MS 49369), which Theodor Mommsen borrowed and inspected in 1876, just before the publication of the second part of CIL V. In the letter that he wrote to thank the Vicar and Librarian of Halkham Hall, Mommsen declared that Valvasone joined “the the long list of forgers”. The analysis of forgeries in Valvasone’s manuscript could show whether Mommsen was right in his opinion.

Vicende di un falso senatoconsulto

This paper aims to reconstruct the origins of the so-called Decretum Rubiconis (CIL XI 30*) and the ancient sources that inspired it (Cicero’s Philippics; Vergil; Seneca; the lex de imperio Vespasiani). The text was significantly manipulated by Ciriaco de’ Pizzicolli before the mid 15th century and was identified as false already by Antonio Agustín (Diálogos, 1587). Despite this prompt identification, the forged epigraphic document had a wide circulation in the manuscript tradition and (at least) two different engravings after the 16th century. A copy of the inscription is now kept in the Museum of Cesena.

Falsari piemontesi del XVI secolo

During the 16th century, the practice of erroneous transcription and falsification of Roman inscriptions was originated in Piedmont by humanists, scholars and collectors, about whom little surviving information exists. This essay seeks to gather it systematically. A leading figure in this process was Emanuele F. Pingone, who, at the service of Duke Emanuele Filiberto of Savoy, produced encomiastic works for the glory of the Duke and for the history of Turin, resorting to legends, miracles and ancient inscriptions; also elsewhere in Piedmont, such as at Asti and Vercelli, numerous falsae were produced, and were later easily unmasked by Lugi Bruzza, Carlo Promis and Theodor Mommsen, for the editing of the CIL V (1877). Transcriptions made by scholars and collectors in the 16th century are often the only evidence for epigraphic documents, that are now lost.

Falso quando?

An altar, found at Brenna (Como) and donated to the Civic Archaeological Collections of Milan in 1875, was never taken into account by scholars because it is unintelligible. The alleged text is sharply and skilfully engraved on at least 13 lines, but is composed of only partially alphabetic signs, devoid of any logical sense. Blaming the stonecutter of incompetence is too simplistic: the text was either proposed to him with scribbled and illegible notes, or had the function of occupying a physical space with no communication purposes, in order to give authoritativeness to the monument, whose owners were already known in other ways. In both cases, it was a forgery, either not corresponding to the original intention, or visibly added as a complementary filler.

Lineamenti per una storia della critica della falsificazione epigrafica

This article offers the first comprehensive investigation of the history of scholarship related to epigraphic forgeries. Fake inscriptions were already produced in Antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages, but their number began to rise dramatically from the Renaissance onwards. By the mid-1500s, scholars became attentive of the risks of using fake sources for antiquarian purposes, while in the 17th and 18th centuries they started isolating forged or suspect texts within specific sections of their new epigraphic corpora. Tentative sets of criteria for isolating non-genuine inscriptions were first identified by Scipione Maffei around 1720, but an actual epistemology for epigraphic criticism was only developed by Theodor Mommsen and his collaborators in the mid-1800s. Since then, most corpora and critical editions have, often implicitly, followed their scientific principles. Current scholars should be well aware of them, because they can present both considerable rewards and serious shortcomings.

Mariangelo Accursio and Pirro Ligorio

This paper aims at providing a detailed analysis of two epigraphic forgeries transcribed by Pirro Ligorio under the lemma “Accursia” in his Enciclopedia del mondo antico: CIL VI 990* and CIL VI 991*. In particular, we make an attempt to identify the genuine inscriptions that might have provided Ligorio with the necessary inspiration to compose these two forgeries and to shed new light on the curious choice of the nomen ‘Accursius’, which appears in both texts.

Pirro Ligorio et « l’histoire secrète » de la restauration de l’Acqua Vergine sous le pontificat de Pie IV (1559-1565)

After the catastrophic Tiber flood of 1557, hydraulic engineering projects became a major focus of urban reform in Rome during the 1560s. Massive public works were commissioned, namely the reconstruction of the acqueduct called Acqua Vergine. This project produced numerous discussions and writings by individuals, of both learned and practical backgrounds like the engineer Antonio Trevisi (d.1564), the jurist and Roman magistrate Luca Peto (1512-81) and the antiquarian Pirro Ligorio. In their writings, they proposed solutions influenced by their study of literary texts and investigations. The goal was to attract the prestigious patronage of pope Pius IV, in a context of conflicts due to the governance of Rome by the papacy and, on the other hand, the communal government. In 1560, Trevisi obtained the contract, but the project failed due to the difficulty of finding funds and to financial malpractice. Under pope Pius V, the repair resumed, and in 1570, the aqueduct was fully restored. Between Trevisi’s failure and the restoration of the Acqua Vergine, Ligorio’s contribution, preserved in his encyclopedia on ‘Roman antiquites’, lies completely overlooked. I propose to study it, showing some fundamental innovations put forward by the antiquarian in documenting through his drawings the restoration of the Acqua Vergine.

Monsignor Luigi Biraghi e i falsi di Cernusco

We present here some reflections on an inscription from Cernusco sul Naviglio (Milan) discovered by Monsignor Luigi Biraghi in 1849 and published by Mommsen among the falsae in CIL V 664*. This paper stems from the discovery of some private and unpublished letters by Biraghi that we consulted at the Archive of the Quadronno Institute of the Sisters of St. Marcellina in Milan. This correspondence informs us of Biraghi’s personal and professional relationships with other mid-19th century classical scholars. The analysis of these documents will shed some light on the harsh judgment that Mommsen (along with others) expressed on Biraghi regarding some inscriptions that he had discovered in the Ager Mediolanensis.

‘Falsi’ epigrafici in Internet: una fenomenologia

Several websites, especially of auction houses, have been selling for many years ancient inscriptions, especially from the Roman period, on stone, metal or other materials. Among these there are also false or dubious inscriptions, some outstandingly produced, but many of very poor quality, often sold as genuine. These are both fakes, cleverly made for fraudulent purposes, and forgeries so poor as to be hardly credible, or copies, more or less faithful, of genuine inscriptions. This paper outlines the most significant aspects of this phenomenon and examines some case studies.

I falsi epigrafici di Giuseppe Francesco Meyranesio

The fake inscriptions forged on paper by Giuseppe Francesco Meyranesio (1729-63) occupy large space in the chapter devoted to Ligurian and Piedmontese falsae within the fifth volume of the CIL, and include over 100 documents. Investigating these forgeries aims at establishing Meyranesio’s method of production. In particular, this research includes the identification of the models, from which he drew inspiration to elaborate his texts and some related aspects: the criteria adopted in the selection and use of archetypes; the printed works, which the forger consulted for this purpose and which were to be easily found in the libraries of the seminaries of the Savoy part of Piedmont. In fact, Meyranesio spent his existence as a priest between Pietraporzio and Sambuco, two mountain villages of the Valle Stura.