MUNIFICENTIA SS. D. N. BENEDICTI. PP. XIV. Le provvidenze di Papa Lambertini per il Museo Capitolino (1740-1758)

This paper is dedicated to the cultural heritage policy of Benedictus XIV, which included important interventions for the preservation of ancient monuments and collections. The author provides a new contribution to the history of the Capitoline collections, especially under the direction of Gregorio Capponi, with reference to provenance and restoration of many sculptures. Information on the gifts from the Pope is drawn principally from dedicatory inscriptions inscribed on the sculptures or on their bases, which record the ‘munificentia’ of Benedictus XIV along with the year of the acquisition.
In addition, new documentation from the collection of the Archivio Segreto Vaticano is transcribed in the Appendixes.