Special Collections
Fabio Ranchetti
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Library
Biblioteca di Economia e Sociologia (area GEPS) Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo.
1.2 Collection name
Fabio Ranchetti
1.3 Biographical notes
Fabio Ranchetti (1948-2020) was born in Milan. In 1967, he got his classical high school diploma from the Liceo Ginnasio G. Berchet in Milan, then, in 1973, he graduated in Philosophy from Università degli Studi di Milano. In 1979, he attended the Trinity College, Cambridge, to specialize in the history of economics. Ranchetti began his academic career at the University of Turin in 1979. There he met Professor Claudio Napoleoni, an illustrious Marxist economist and member of the Italian Parliament.
From 1979 to 1990, he was assistant professor of economics at the University of Turin.
From 1990 to 1995, he was associate professor of economics at the University of Pisa.
From 1995 to 1998, he was associate professor of economics at the University of Pavia.
From 1998 to 2000, he was associate professor of economics at the Polytechnic University of Milan.
Since 2000, he was a full professor of economics at the University of Pisa, but he also taught economics at the University of Pavia and at Politecnico in Milan. After his retirement, he continued to teach at the University of Milan and the Cattolica University in Milan.
He always believed that political economy could be a form of understanding the world, inseparable from moral and political philosophy (of which it is a branch), mathematics, logic, and linguistics. In the last years of his life, he focused especially on the relationship between political economy and literature in Thomas Mann and the relationship between political economy and philosophy in Wittgenstein.
In his studies, Ranchetti entwined the humanistic culture and the study of political economy with philosophical reflection directed towards ethics and a critical view of the problems of the contemporary world. He is remembered by many as a scholar gifted with strong humanity and professionalism in his studies.
Ranchetti was deeply attached to his books: he inherited them from his family and during his life he enriched the collection. Ranchetti used to say: «My library is organized according to a specific idea, or, if you will, a precise cultural project. Let's talk abour Thomas Mann. In my library, Thomas Mann’s works (...) are together not only with texts about Thomas Mann but also with books about the history of the period (...) But that's not all. In Thomas Mann’s work, music plays a fundamental role. So, next to the books, on the shelves, there are CDs from Beethoven to Schönberg, the musicians he liked and he liked to wrote about (…)». So literature, economics, music, cinema, photography, theater, history, philosophy, and religion are not considered – as it usually is – as different sections but as different aspects of the same reality.
To give a deeper look at Professor Fabio Ranchetti’s studies, some books can be key in the process: “Fabio Ranchetti, filosofo ed economista”, edited by Anna Florio, Bruna Ingrao (Nerbini, 2022), ISBN 9788864344102. This book displays the contributions presented in the seminar “Ricordando Fabio Ranchetti. Un filosofo un economista”, held on October 21, 2021at Cattolica University of Milan, exactly one year after his passing.
1.4 Date and methods of acquisition
On January 17, 2022, Dr. Marcella Peruzzi sent a report to the General Director (protocol number 6512) accepting the donation of Professor Fabio Ranchetti's personal library. On January 28, 2022, the Board of Directors approved the acquisition of the collection
The Fabio Ranchetti Collection was donated by Ms. Angelica De Vito (letter dated December 20, 2021, protocolled on December 21, 2022, with number 118532), a friend of the professor, who acquired (but not purchased) all Ranchetti’s books, as the legitimate heirs, his sister Giovanna Ranchetti and her daughters Sara and Marta Tagnetti, renounced to the inheritance.
1.5 Collection history
This collection contains libraries from five generations of the Cappelli-Ranchetti-Canetti family and the origins date back to 1848. Professor Ranchetti expanded the already extensive library throughout his life with a multidisciplinary approach, acquiring books on literature, economics, music, cinema, photography, theater, history, philosophy, and religion.
The entire library, packed in 180 boxes, was transported to Urbino at the Biblioteca di Economia e Sociologia in Palazzo Battiferri. The library staff took care of inventorying, cataloging, placing all the material. The collection is located inside in the PhD students’ room in Palazzo Battiferri.
1.6 Collection increase
No further material is expected to be added to the collection.
1.7 Collection indexing
Ms. Angelica De Vito, who donated the collection, also complied a list attached to the collection (letter dated 21/12/2022, protocol 118532). The collection holds 4,154 monographs, 3 periodicals, a significant number of films (both on DVD and VHS), several music CDs, and envelopes.
From the initial list provided by Ms. Angelica, the librarians went on the cataloging of the material, following national cataloging procedures and standards.
1.8 Collection accessibility
The collection, catalogued and made available to the public, can be accessed online and on open shelves.
2. DESCRIPTION
2.1 Extent
The collection holds 4,154 monographs, 3 periodicals, a significant number of films (both on DVD and VHS), several music CDs, and envelopes.
2.2 Description identifier, organization, and placement
The collection, keeping its autonomy from the other collections of the library, has been located in a section specifically created for this collection, called F.RANCHETTI, which is divided into the following location:
F.R.: related to all economic subjects, classics of economics, and many specialized texts in business sciences, statistics, mathematics (1638 units).
A.F.R.: related to all arts of photography, cinema, theater, music (220 units).
D.F.R.: related to consultation material, especially dedicated to felines, geography, and dictionaries (139 units).
F.F.R.: related to philosophical subjects (496 units).
L.F.R.: related to literary subjects, and texts of classical Greek and Latin literature (1353 units).
S.F.R.: related to Italian history of the 19th and 20th centuries , history of philosophical and scientific thought, Italian political church (308 units).
The collection contains also the following magazines:
- Ferrania: Monthly magazine of photography, cinematography, and fine arts. - Milan: SAES. Issues from the year: 1954
- Illustrazione Toscana: rassegna di ogni energia regionale: organo ufficiale dell'Ente per le attività toscane e dei Comitati aderenti - Florence: Typ. Ricci (Monthly) The subtitle varies in: Rassegna di ogni attività regionale: organo della Federazione toscana movimento forestieri e del comitato fra gli enti di alta cultura - Publisher varies. Issues from the years: from 1923 (birth of the periodical) to 1934.
- Corriere dei piccoli: Illustrated insert of the Corriere della sera. Milan: Tip. del Corriere della sera. Issues from the years: 1916, 1920, 1928.
2.3 State of conservation
Overall the collection is well preserved, except for some books dating back to the early 1900s that needed to be restored due to damage to the bindings, covers, and/or pages.
3. BIBLIOGRAPHY AND DOCUMENTATION
3.1 Bibliography and documentation
To learn more about Professor Fabio Ranchetti and his collection:
“Fabio Ranchetti, filosofo ed economista”, edited by Anna Florio and Bruna Ingrao (Nerbini 2022). The first part of the book is dedicated to the biography of Fabio Rachetti; in the second part, the editors underline the main focuses of Fabio Ranchetti’s research.
PERMALINK TO THE CATALOGUE
COMPLIER'S NAME
Giancarla Marzoli