A few months back a relative left me most of her personal library. Our interests were more adjacent that overlapping but she trusted I’d take care of what I wanted and spread the rest out to appreciative parties. One of the happier surprises among what I’ve kept is the six volume Enciclopedia Virgiliana, a project inspired by the success of the earlier Enciclopedia Dantesca (explained in brief here – though this legacy also brought me the lovely 1996 edizione di lusso). I’d used the work a couple of times – mainly for Virgil’s relationship to his Greek predecessors – but knew it less in its own right than as a recurring citation in the commentaries on Aeneid 2, 3, 6, 7, and 11 the scholar Nicholas Horsfall had done through from ~2000-2015. This morning I checked some entry, started flipping about, and discovered Horsfall himself had authored several articles. Curious if he’d written anything on the origins or progression of the project, I did a bit of searching and found an informal review in v.33 (1987) of Vergilius. The general thrust is flattering with a few expected scholar’s snipes at some of the entries and editorial choices but it ends with a set of ordering instructions that could only have been written by someone with enough time in Italy to be at peace with – but still baffled by – how the nation operates:
It should however be by now clear that we have here a massive new tool in Virgilian studies, that the specialist should not be without. The next step is to write to the Ufficio Abbonamenti, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, 00186 Roma, Pza. Paganica 4, Casella Postale 717, in Italian (of course), asking for details of a subscription to the five volumes of the EV. Do not send US stamps. After a while, write again. If you are finally sent details and decide to subscribe, you will need to acquire a banker’s order for an exact sum in lire (non-contributors may need to find as much as 750 dollars at current rates). A different office will then need to realize that you should be sent a copy. Further reminders may well be necessary at this stage (tel. Rome 650881). And a wait while the beautifully packed volumes arrive by sea mail. This account will seem depressing; distinguished Italian scholars find it no easier to acquire series from Pza. Paganica. But let us be quite clear: the delays in acquisition and the irritations in use are definitely worth it in the end. Francesco della Corte deserves our warm gratitude.
Extracts 