The Saraceno Collection at IAM
Beginning in October, The Rare Volumes of Italian History Books will be available
By Dr. Peter Vellon

With the shipment of 436 boxes of books from Rome, in the summer of 1999, the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, Queens College/CUNY obtained a collection of works on Italian history that proves to be one of a kind in the United States. The Pietro and Luisa Saraceno Collection is currently being installed on shelves in the offices of the Calandra Institute in mid-town Manhattan. Through the efforts of Dr. Philip V. Cannistraro, Distinguished Professor of Italian American Studies, and Professor Steven C. Hughes of Loyola College in Maryland, an agreement was reached which found a home for the more than 10,000 volume collection that was compiled and owned by the late Pietro Saraceno, a professor of administrative history at the University of Rome. According to Professor Hughes, Pietro Saraceno created a research library which, although small by some standards, offered a unique instrument for the study of certain topics in contemporary Italian history.
The collection focuses on Italian history and administration and is a treasure trove of scholarly monographs, journals, historical dictionaries, extracts, and collected articles. There are old and rare volumes from as early as the 18th century, and entire runs of scholarly journals some dating to the 1800s. Among the many unique items in the collection are the hundreds of volumes representing the complete Legge e Decreti (laws and decrees) for the Kingdom of Italy as well as for the Italian states before unification. According to Professor Cannistraro, there are volumes in the Saraceno Collection that are not likely to be found in any other library in the United States. Upon its official opening in October 2004, the Calandra Institute will make the collection available on a non-lending basis to scholars, students, and researchers. Professor Peter Vellon, Acting Executive Director of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, looks forward to the Library’s opening. The addition of this unique and outstanding collection dedicated to Italian history complements our growing Italian American collection and fulfills our mission as an academic research institute and scholarly resource.
In conjunction with the opening of the Calandra Institute’s expanded library, the Italian American Museum will mount an exhibition featuring some of the Saraceno Collection’s rare volumes. Professor Philip Cannistraro as curator, the exhibit promises to be a fascinating and informative glance at contemporary Italian history through books.