Libri e Cultura nella Sardegna del Seicento

The work derives from the conviction that history and the history of culture represent the key to better knowledge of ourselves and to the construction of a better future. This same belief has, for years, inspired the research of several scholars, increasingly committed to the enhancement of the ancient literary heritage, the repository of ideas, and the knowledge that have contributed to the development of our society. As for Sardinia, there are already detailed investigations regarding the fourth and sixteenth centuries, so it seemed useful to continue this work, adding to the knowledge of the island's cultural context in the seventeenth century. This research was completed using, as privileged sources, library survivors equipped with ex libris and handwritten notes, pastoral visits, and notarial documents preserved in the Sardinian capital; for a better understanding of these, special attention was given to the reconstruction of the wider historical, economic, and social context in which printed knowledge circulated. The information obtained has allowed me to better define Sardinia position with respect to Mediterranean cultural contexts and to maintain the image of backwardness and isolation that characterize it, as well as to identify the main users of typographic products, the most widely read topics, the elements of continuity and/or change with respect to previous centuries - among which this last one shows, in particular, the emergence of Letrados.