Due lettere inedite di Stefano Borgia: il lascito generoso di Mario Capasso

Abstract

From an antiquarian bookshop to the University library: this is the fortunate journey, I would say, of two unpublished manuscripts by Stefano Borgia, now part of the collection of the Center for Papyrological Studies at Unisalento. A long journey, unfolding across space and time, through the centuries. This happy conclusion is owed to the care, generosity, and dedication of Mario Capasso, who enables us today to reconstruct a previously unknown facet of cultural life in the 18th century. At the same time, it conveys a timeless lesson, connecting a seemingly past story to the present. This tale, rich with unexpected and captivating developments, allows us to weave together once again the threads of a network that linked Italy and Denmark, Rome and Copenhagen, cardinals and Enlightenment thinkers – but above all, Schow and Borgia, two 18thcentury scholars who profoundly influenced an eminent 21stcentury papyrologist. Along with his alter ego, Mr. George Cavendish, he taught us never to stop dreaming and seeking.