Centro Romantico
The Centro Romantico, using the documents preserved at the Institute as a point of departure, promores research and initiatives about European society in the nineenth century. In particular, however, this division of the Gabinetto Vieusseux examines the acquisition and diffusion of knowledge and the comparisons of many different cultures and experiences, which characterized Giovan Piero Vieusseux’s salon. This dissemination of information, the vast number of conversations through letters from different countries, the network of correspondence among booksellers, the circulation of publications and reviews, the documentation of scientific progression, the reading public, the illumination of social and economic issues, and the attention to visitors from abroad were all fundamental for the initiatives that led to the creation of the Gabinetto Vieusseux; they also took note of a great number of influential non-political characters in Florence and Tuscany’s recent history. The activity of research and the distribution of its findings extend into manifold aspects of our current culture, and the consultation and the support of the research make up a part of the duties of the Centro.
Among the works currently in progress are the computerized thematic and nominative index of the Vieusseux Letters, the catalogue of the correspondences of Giovan Pietro Vieusseux, and the computerized archive concerning European society in the 19th century, which is still in the stages of preparation. In November 1997, the Italian Society for the Study of the Relationships Between Science and Literature was founded with its center close to the Centro Romantico. Fosco Maraini’s Asian Library and Photograph Archives were given to the Centro Romantico thanks to the support of the Ente Cassa Risparmio di Firenze.
Read more about this topic: Gabinetto Vieusseux