Paolo D’Ancona Collection

Paolo D’Ancona (Pisa 1878–Milan 1964) was an Italian art historian and academic. A student of Adolfo Venturi, he devoted much of his research to Italian manuscript illumination, with a particular focus on the Florentine school. In 1907, he joined the teaching staff of what was then the Accademia Scientifico-Letteraria di Milano, and in 1919 he was appointed full professor at the Institute of Art History, where he remained for nearly half a century—except for a period of interruption between 1938 and 1945 due to the racial laws. The history of the former Institute is deeply intertwined with that of its founder, to the extent that it was originally named after Paolo D’Ancona—a dedication that was later lost when the institute was restructured into departments. The first part of his personal collection was transferred to the University in 1945, while the remainder was donated in 1954, the year of his retirement, to serve as a resource for study and research. The collection consists of 814 bibliographic units, including monographs and serials, and stands as a significant testament to the breadth of the professor’s scholarly interests.