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Italian News by RSSAgi: Torna a Montecassino il Copernico rubato
AGI - Tra il brusio dei turisti e il silenzio millenario dell'Abbazia di Montecassino, si è consumato ieri un atto di giustizia storica. Due Carabinieri in borghese del Reparto Operativo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale hanno varcato la soglia del Monastero per consegnare nelle mani di Don Alessandro Trespioli, Bibliotecario dell'Abbazia, un pacco speciale: un involucro trasparente che custodisce un tesoro del pensiero umano.
Si tratta dell'edizione del "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium" di Niccolò Copernico, stampata a Basilea nel 1566. Un volume di inestimabile valore scientifico e bibliografico, valutato da Christie's tra i 60.000 e gli 80.000 dollari, celebre per essere la prima edizione a includere anche la Narratio Prima di Rheticus, fondamentale per la diffusione della teoria eliocentrica.
Il furto e il saccheggio della biblioteca
Il volume era scomparso tra la primavera e l'estate del 2011, vittima del sistematico saccheggio operato da Massimo De Caro. L'ex direttore della Biblioteca dei Girolamini, fingendosi studioso e consulente ministeriale, utilizzava i propri collaboratori per distrarre i monaci custodi e sottrarre indisturbato testi rari. Per tali crimini, De Caro è stato condannato a 12 anni di reclusione per peculato.
Il recupero e l'Operazione girolamini
Il recupero del Copernico, avvenuto ieri 21 aprile 2026, segna una tappa fondamentale della cosiddetta "Operazione Girolamini". Il libro è rimpatriato dagli Stati Uniti il 15 dicembre 2023, dopo un lungo viaggio illecito che lo aveva visto transitare per Parigi e approdare a New York.
I volumi mancanti e il ritorno a casa
La missione di recupero per Montecassino resta aperta: dei quindici volumi denunciati (tra cui sei incunaboli e diverse cinquecentine), ne sono tornati finora quattro, tra cui la preziosa prima edizione de "Le operazioni del compasso geometrico et militare" di Galileo Galilei. Con il rientro del capolavoro di Copernico, un altro tassello dell'identità culturale del Monumento Nazionale torna finalmente a casa.
Copernicus Stolen Returns to Montecassino
AGI - Amidst the murmur of tourists and the millennial silence of the Abbey of Montecassino, a historical act of justice unfolded yesterday. Two Carabinieri (military police) in civilian attire from the Reparto Operativo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale (Operational Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage) crossed the threshold of the Monastery to hand over to Father Alessandro Trespioli, Librarian of the Abbey, a special package: a transparent envelope containing a treasure of human thought.
It is the edition of “De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) by Nicolaus Copernicus, printed in Basel in 1566. An invaluable scientific and bibliographic volume, valued between $60,000 and $80,000 by Christie’s, famous for being the first edition to also include the Narratio Prima by Rheticus, fundamental for the dissemination of the heliocentric theory.
The Theft and Looting of the Library
The volume disappeared between spring and summer 2011, a victim of the systematic looting carried out by Massimo De Caro. The former director of the Biblioteca dei Girolamini (Girolamini Library), posing as a scholar and ministerial consultant, used his collaborators to distract the monastic custodians and steal rare texts undisturbed. For these crimes, De Caro was sentenced to 12 years in prison for embezzlement.
The Recovery and the Girolamini Operation
The recovery of the Copernican volume, which occurred yesterday, April 21, 2026, marks a key stage of the so-called “Girolamini Operation”. The book was repatriated from the United States on December 15, 2023, after a long illegal journey that saw it pass through Paris and arrive in New York.
The Missing Volumes and Return Home
The recovery mission for Montecassino remains open: of the fifteen volumes reported missing (including six incunabula and several cinquecentine – 16th-century printed books), four have so far returned, including the precious first edition of “Le operazioni del compasso geometrico et militare” (The Operations of the Geometric and Military Compass) by Galileo Galilei. With the return of Copernicus’ masterpiece, another cornerstone of the National Monument’s cultural identity has finally come home.
#Carabinieri #PatrimonioCulturale #Monastery #AlessandroTrespioli #Derevolutionibus #NicolausCopernicus #Basel #Christie’s #first #NarratioPrima #Rheticus #MassimoDeCaro #DeCaro #Copernican #GirolaminiOperation #theUnitedStates #Paris #NewYork #Montecassino #Leoperazioni #GalileoGalilei #Copernicus’
https://www.agi.it/cronaca/news/2026-04-22/montecassino-copernico-36707867/
gzornetta has movedCartulario cassinese, XVIII sec.
Archivio del Monumento Nazionale di Montecassino, Abbazia di #Montecassino
Cartulario cassinese, XVIII sec.
Archivio del Monumento Nazionale di Montecassino, Abbazia di #Montecassino
Cartulario cassinese, XVIII sec.
Archivio del Monumento Nazionale di Montecassino, Abbazia di #Montecassino
Cartulario cassinese, XVIII sec.
Archivio del Monumento Nazionale di Montecassino, Abbazia di #Montecassino
Massimo Marciano#Museo #gratis e apertura della #LoggiaDelParadiso all'#Abbazia di #Montecassino
#Tesori in #mostra: domani consueto appuntamento mensile con “#Domenicaalmuseo”, giornata promossa in sinergia con il #MinisterodellaCultura
The World at WarA British soldier goes building to building trying to eke out pockets of resistance - Monte Cassino, Italy, May 1944 #montecassino #italy #ww2 #worldwar2 #britisharmy #history
Bistum AugsburgDas war das Besondere am heiligen #Benedikt
Heute feiert die Kirche den Festtag des #Ordensgründer|s Benedikt. Obwohl er im 5. und 6. Jahrhundert gelebt hat, wissen wir eine Menge über ihn. Hier ein paar eher unbekannte Facts zu ihm:
📌Seine Klostergründung in #Montecassino steht auf den Grundpfeilern eines Apollo-Tempels. Generell ist er mit dem antiken Erbe nicht gerade zimperlich umgegangen.
📌Die von ihm um das Jahr 540 herum verfasste #Mönchsregel bildet bis heute die Grundlage für das Zusammenleben der Mönche und Nonnen in den benediktinischen (Zweig-)Orden.
📌Seine Zwillingsschwester war die #heiligeScholastika.
📌Nach seinem #Tod sollen Engel ihn auf einer teppichbelegten, lichterfüllten Straße in den Himmel getragen haben.
📌 1964 wurde er zum #PatronEuropas ernannt.
Not Quite MechanisedA Grand Day Out – Montecassino at Campaign, Milton Keynes 10-11 May 2025
Sooo … Standing around in a shopping centre with sharp instruments of medieval mayhem. Is it worth it? The answer has to be a resounding yes! Campaign is the only show I know of where non-wargamers come into contact with us “Bespectacled Beardy Wierdies (BBW)“.¹ It gives the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society (NBS) a chance to promote awareness of battlefield sites in the county and we have a chance to introduce primary school-aged children and older to history in a fun way.
We kind of know that we are doing our job when the teenaged boys in that sort of not-quite-adult age bracket come back and tell us all the facts that they know, some of which are even out of books rather than video shorts – we keep them away from the swords. The girls stop wanting to try on helmets when they discover hair products and nail bars! The dads are usually the ones with the gleam in their eye.
The NQM Montecassino board was a bit of a revelation this year, as it proved to be a focus for people walking past and telling their own stories, not all of which were of the “My father/grandfather served in Italy” variety. Of course a few wargamers strolled past and played the game, but first the most notable story of the day :
“My Grandfather was captured at Montecasssino. When the war ended, my grandmother got out of Berlin before the border closed and came to England. We have been here ever since. My great aunt worked at Bletchly Park decoding German cyphers. When she met my Grandmother, who was a cypher clark in Berlin, they realised that her job was coding the cyphers that my great aunt was decoding!“
One Polish/Italian couple also had skin in the game on both sides.
Half a dozen Poles looked at the board, and all of them knew the history of the battle and the part that Second Polish Corps played in capturing the Abbey. One of them even asked “Where is the Bear?“²
Go on, Jules! You know you want to!
I managed to capture another Man in a Hat for the archive. Jules is a regular Conference of Wargamers attendee who knew that it was probably better not to bomb the Cassino, but did anyway for historical accuracy.
Of course I want to bomb that bit!
Will Whyler is much reduced in mobility nowadays but turned up with his new pair of Hotwheels and James, who previously beat me effortlessly at DBA – I’m not bitter!
Peterborough Wargames Club.
Other participation games offered an eclectic mix of Medieval, Renaissance, WW2, Walace and Grommit meet the Clangers, Witch Racing and Orks in Armoured Tractors!
The team has setting up and packing away to a fine art nowadays, slicker than a buttered weasel, so we had a good end to a Grand Weekend Out.
Footnotes
Wojtek the soldier bear (https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/soldier-bear-statue) After his retirement to Edinburgh Zoo, keepers found it disconcerting when Polish veterans would climb into the enclosure to share beer and cigarettes with Wojtek.
