MeMo Moves Forward: The First Incunabula Now Available in the Heritage Section

La sezione Patrimonio di MeMo.dl continua ad ampliarsi: sono ora consultabili online i primi incunaboli descritti e digitalizzati nell’ambito del progetto Memory of Montecassino.

This development significantly extends the chronological and material scope of the platform. By bringing together manuscripts and the earliest products of print, MeMo restores continuity to the history of book production between the late medieval and early modern periods.

At the scientific core of this new phase lies the material study conducted by the Catania Research Unit, responsible for the codicological and bibliographical analysis as well as the historical and descriptive framing of the copies. Digitisation and metadata creation were carried out by the Cassino and Catania Unit through the team dedicated to image production and data structuring. Supporting the digital environment is a technological infrastructure developed in collaboration with Hyperborea and DBSeret, partners of the project since its earliest stages, enabling the integration of images, descriptive data, and external references within a unified research framework.

More than a numerical addition, the inclusion of incunabula represents a qualitative strengthening of the relational network that underpins MeMo. Each copy is linked to national and international identifiers — from the SBN Bibliographic Identifier (BID) to the ISTC (Incunabula Short Title Catalogue) and the MEI (Material Evidence in Incunabula) of CERL — ensuring interoperability, traceability, and alignment with major reference repertories.

As a result, the heritage tree becomes increasingly articulated: entities multiply, connections deepen, and research possibilities expand. Stable permalinks and progressively more advanced querying tools shape MeMo as a dynamic environment for exploration and study, where material data, scholarly description, and digital resources interact coherently.

Through the integration of incunabula, the platform further broadens its research potential, reinforcing the network of relationships that forms the architectural backbone of MeMo.

Le digitalizzazioni sono disponibili nella sezione Patrimonio della MeMo digital library, accessibile dalla Home del sito memo.unicas.it o attraverso la barra di navigazione superiore. Seguendo il percorso Biblioteca → Incunaboli è possibile esplorare l’albero delle entità, consultare le schede descrittive e visualizzare integralmente le immagini tramite il visualizzatore integrato. Le riproduzioni sono inoltre accessibili attraverso l’ambiente OMNES di DBSeret, che offre strumenti di ricerca e di consultazione avanzata.