10.6092/issn.1973-9494/17316
application/pdf
1973-9494
17316
en
Salvatore Lorusso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
conservation
L’Erma di Bretschneider: a reference point for scientific and humanistic publications since 1896
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
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Articles
2023-07-20
2023-06-21
2023-07-20
2023-07-20
207-221
CSCH
Salvatore Lorusso
2022
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/17316
207
Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
1973-9494
conservation
en
221
L’Erma di Bretschneider: a reference point for scientific and humanistic publications since 1896
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/17316/16531
22
L   ’ERMA DI BRETSCHNEIDER:
    A REFERENCE POINT FOR SCIENTIFIC AND HUMANISTIC
    PUBLICATIONS SINCE 1896

   Andrea Natali *
   Conservazione dei beni culturali, Director of the Scuola Biennale di Alta Formazione
   in “Archeologia Giudiziaria e Crimini Contro il Patrimonio Culturale”, Viterbo, Italy

   Salvatore Lorusso*
   Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences

   Keywords: publishing, history, art, architecture, conservation



   1. Introduction

     Founded in Rome in 1896, L’ERMA di Bretschneider is a publishing house that has
dedicated one hundred and twenty-six years to the production and international distri-
bution of academic and scientific editions with a particular focus on the social sciences
and humanities. Its aim is to present the results of unpublished research through the
publication of scientific journals, monographs and reference works such as collections,
manuals and catalogues. The mission of the publishing house is, in fact, to publish
works of the highest academic standard in the field of social sciences and humanities.
For the most part, the publications deal with the disciplines of archaeology and history,
the conservation and management of cultural heritage, Roman law, the history of art
and architecture and literary criticism. Today, L’ERMA di Bretschneider is unanimously
recognized as the Italian publishing house par excellence for its scientific publications
in the field of humanities, in particular archaeology, ancient history and art history. Its
vast editorial catalogue boasts over a century of collaboration with the Ministry of Cul-
ture and its constituent bodies; in point of fact, L’ERMA di Bretschneider is the publish-
er of several publications produced by fifteen of the archaeological superintendencies
in Italy. In addition, it collaborates with various Schools of Archaeology and Internation-
al Academies. Its work for the Archaeological Superintendencies of Naples and Pom-
pei, the Superintendency of the City of Rome, the Vatican Museums and the Pontifical
Roman Academy of Archaeology and the History of Art, is noteworthy.
     The publishing house has numerous titles to its credit deriving from archaeological
collections housed in national and international museums (Italy, France, Germany,
Russia, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, USA), including the prestigious Corpus Vasorum
Antiquorum and Corpus Speculorum Etruscorum. It also collaborates with several Amer-
ican museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of New York, the Getty Museum of
Los Angeles and the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio and is actively involved in numerous
partnerships with national and international Universities which have led to the setting
up of important journals and editorial collections.



   * Corresponding author: andreanatali.beniculturali@gmail.com ; salvatore.lorusso@unibo.it
                                                                                                                                           L’ERMA di Bretschneider has been chosen by universities, superintendencies and
                                                                                                                                      international institutes for its high quality, attention to detail and distribution services. Its
Andrea Natali, Salvatore Lorusso - L’Erma di Bretschneider: a reference point for scientific and humanistic publications since 1896




                                                                                                                                      key strength is its ability to reach out and capture the interest of institutions, profession-
                                                                                                                                      als, scholars and experts in the social sciences and humanities throughout the world,
                                                                                                                                      to promote its publications, spreading the value of Italian and international scientific
                                                                                                                                      research in archaeology, history and art. Its culture policy focuses primarily on a
                                                                                                                                      wide-ranging distribution of specialist publications, which besides Italy extends to the
                                                                                                                                      rest of Europe, the major English-speaking countries and all the continents. Its service
                                                                                                                                      to the sector of scientific publications and its ability to communicate makes L’ERMA di
                                                                                                                                      Bretschneider a privileged channel for the dissemination of research results in the
                                                                                                                                      humanities and social sciences.
                                                                                                                                           Accredited as being synonymous with scientific reliability and editorial excellence
                                                                                                                                      it is also active in the same disciplinary fields as a consultant and organizer, and
                                                                                                                                      developer and promoter of advanced systems in research, events, museum installations
                                                                                                                                      and exhibitions [1].


                                                                                                                                          2. History

                                                                                                                                           Born in Crimmitzschau in Saxony, Germany, Max Bretschneider was the founder of
                                                                                                                                      the publishing house and bookshop. He came to Rome in 1894 and formed a profession-
                                                                                                                                      al partnership with the publisher Herman Loescher. After the latter’s death, Max, still in
                                                                                                                                      his twenties, bought the publishing house in 1896, preserving Loescher’s editorial char-
                                                                                                                                      acteristics, style and spirit. In an era marked by a reawakening of interest in the classical
                                                                                                                                      age and archaeological exploration, as well as the start of important excavation works,
                                                                                                                                      Loescher had in fact directed his business toward the printing of manuals on Greco-Ro-
                                                                                                                                      man antiquity, some of which had been adopted as school texts in Italy and abroad [2].
                                                                                                                                           In 1907, Max opened a bookshop in Rome, at number 60 Via del Tritone (Figure 1),
                                                                                                                                      which soon became an obligatory stop for all antiquity enthusiasts. After his marriage
                                                                                                                                      to Maria Hefner and the period of the First World War, fought in Germany, in 1928 Max
                                                                                                                                      moved the bookshop, publishing house and his home to number 19 Via Cassiodoro in
                                                                                                                                      Rome. His publishing merits (Figure 2) had earned him various decorations of the
                                                                                                                                      Kingdom of Italy and his election as a regular supplier of the royal house («Libreria
                                                                                                                                      della Real Casa») [2].
                                                                                                                                           With the outbreak of the Second World War business slowed down and, in 1944,
                                                                                                                                      came to a halt during the troubled times of the final years of the war, and also because
                                                                                                                                      of the problems deriving from the German origins of the Bretschneider family.
                                                                                                                                           When the British arrived in Rome, Max, his wife Maria, and their daughter Erminia,
                                                                                                                                      were imprisoned in the monastery of the Certosa di Padula together with most of the
                                                                                                                                      citizens with German names residing in Rome at that time. They were in prison for
                                                                                                                                      twelve months!
                                                                                                                                           Imprisonment and the interruption of his work, along with the confiscation of the
                                                                                                                                      bookshop and most of his personal archive, was a distressing human experience which,
                                                                                                                                      however, did not discourage him.
                                                                                                                                           Business resumed on 11th September 1945 when Max Bretschneider was seven-
                                                                                                                                      ty-three. The restart of work also coincided with the change of the firm’s name to «L’Er-
                                                                                                                                      ma» di Bretschneider, where the quotation marks are part of the brand.
                                                                                                                                           The term “L’Erma” had two meanings. Firstly, as an acronym it stood for «Libreria
                                                                                                                                      Editrice Romana Monumenti e Arte»; and secondly, it recalled a herm, a square-shaped


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Figure 1. The poster for Max Bretschneider’s bookshop in Via del Tritone, Rome (1919).




                                                                                           CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE




    Figure 2. Title page of a luxury edition published by Max Bretschneider (1911).


                                                                                         209
Andrea Natali, Salvatore Lorusso - L’Erma di Bretschneider: a reference point for scientific and humanistic publications since 1896




                                                                                                                                                  Figure 3. The herm, sculpture on a column, in Via Cassiodoro, Rome.

                                                                                                                                      pillar with a sculpted head on top, a piece which still welcomes visitors to Via Cassiodoro
                                                                                                                                      and a symbol of the classical world representing the publisher’s choices (Figure 3).
                                                                                                                                           Max taught his six children the profession and they became partners in the busi-
                                                                                                                                      ness. He died on 28th December 1950. In 1959, two of his children, Erminia and Gior-
                                                                                                                                      gio, took over the shares of the other four and managed the firm together until 1973,
                                                                                                                                      when Giorgio left the publishing house.
                                                                                                                                           With her children, Roberto, Francesco and Maria Silvia Marcucci, Erminia set up a
                                                                                                                                      new firm in 1974. After her death, the chairmanship of the board of directors was taken
                                                                                                                                      over by her son Roberto, who is still at the head of the publishing house, alongside
                                                                                                                                      Elena Montani, the managing director [1].
                                                                                                                                           In 2021, on the occasion of the 125th year since its founding, two short commemo-
                                                                                                                                      rative volumes were published to celebrate the event [3,4].


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   3. Prizes

     The editorial and cultural work of L’Erma di Bretschneider has been honoured with
receiving the Prize for Culture, awarded by the Italian Office of the Council of Ministers,
in 1985, 1988, 1990 and 1997.
     In 1992, the Ministry for Cultural and Environmental Heritage conferred the export
prize for Italian books (Premio per l’esportazione del libro italiano) for the volume of
books exported abroad, in view of coming first among the scientific publishers and
tenth among the Italian publishers.
     Over the years, L’Erma di Bretschneider has also established prestigious prizes of
its own:
   •   «L’Erma» Prize for Archaeology;
   •   «L’Erma» Prize for Art.


   3.1. «L’Erma» prize for Archaeology

    In 1978, in order to encourage and support studies in the archaeological field,
Roberto Marcucci, the editorial director of «L’Erma», set up the «L’Erma» Prize, a
competition in honor of Max Bretschneider. The prize is intended for unpublished
scientific works in the field of classical, medieval and oriental archaeology, as well as
in the research of prehistory and can be proposed in Italian, German, English, French
or Spanish. Participation is open and free of charge and authors can present one or
more titles which are then submitted to the verdict of a jury composed of Italian and
foreign academic specialists in the previously mentioned subject areas. The selected
work is then published free of charge in volume form by «L’Erma» and added to its
catalogue; in addition, the author receives a sum of money. The initiative aims to




                                                                                                 CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
reduce the difficulties young researchers face, when trying to have the results of their
studies published.


   2.2. «L’Erma» Prize for Art

    In 2005, a second prize was set up, «L’Erma» Prize for Art, which is held annually,
and is dedicated to the history of art. The selected works are honoured by being pub-
lished in the prestigious book series L’ErmArte, specially created for the purpose.


   4. The catalogue

    L’Erma has gained an outstanding position in the history of Italian publishing, remain-
ing faithful across three centuries to its vocation, which has made it a reference point in
the industry for its scientific and humanistic publications. Its works, the result of almost
nine thousand authors, can be found in more than two thousand seven hundred libraries
and seventy countries spread over the five continents, bearing witness to the efficient
distribution network it manages. The significant catalogue, which includes collections
and journals of high standing, and the intense research activity in historical, archaeolog-
ical and artistic disciplines, conducted with leading experts in the field and the most


                                                                                               211
                                                                                                                                      prestigious universities in the world, constitute today an invaluable cultural heritage
                                                                                                                                      which is available not only to scholars and enthusiasts, but to the entire community [1, 4].
Andrea Natali, Salvatore Lorusso - L’Erma di Bretschneider: a reference point for scientific and humanistic publications since 1896




                                                                                                                                          Leafing through the last catalogue, one is pleasantly surprised by the long list of
                                                                                                                                      published titles and the variety of topics that are addressed which range from clas-
                                                                                                                                      sical archaeology to epigraphic studies, from Mediterranean archaeology to papy-
                                                                                                                                      rology studies, from research on the ancient Arab world to Etruscology, from re-
                                                                                                                                      search on the conservation and management of cultural heritage to the study of art
                                                                                                                                      history and architecture, from contemporary art research to studies of literary criti-
                                                                                                                                      cism and philology and finish with studies on fashion history, Roman law and the
                                                                                                                                      history of medicine.
                                                                                                                                          Since issue N.20 (2020), the historical-technical Journal, Conservation Science in
                                                                                                                                      Cultural Heritage, has been included in the catalogue.
                                                                                                                                          The pulsating heart testifying to L’ERMA’s special editorial mission is evident in the
                                                                                                                                      diversified and, at the same time, detailed description of the content of the topics pre-
                                                                                                                                      sented in the catalogue.
                                                                                                                                          We were therefore, instinctively attracted by this statement of intent and declared
                                                                                                                                      objectives, which had become over the decades, unconditionally, a fundamental guid-
                                                                                                                                      ing principle, dictating and providing contributions of a highly scientific and educational
                                                                                                                                      nature to schools of thought, institutions, researchers and scholars.
                                                                                                                                          Hence, the start and continuation of the reciprocation of the aforesaid intent and
                                                                                                                                      objectives, based on the principles which characterize the Journal, Conservation Sci-
                                                                                                                                      ence in Cultural Heritage, interdisciplinarity and internationalization.


                                                                                                                                            5. Conclusion

                                                                                                                                           The historic publishing house has evolved through the years maintaining its quality
                                                                                                                                      and authoritativeness, but without forgoing the latest innovative challenges which the
                                                                                                                                      publishing sector is currently being confronted with, and fervently supporting the evo-
                                                                                                                                      lution and protection of the sector, also from a technological point of view.
                                                                                                                                           L’ERMA is strongly committed to the use of digital technologies, to multilingualism
                                                                                                                                      and the dissemination of its texts in the most important libraries and international insti-
                                                                                                                                      tutes, in order to lead the two worlds of paper and technological information along the
                                                                                                                                      path of modernity, integrating the specific qualities of each one and expanding the
                                                                                                                                      boundaries of knowledge that the publishing sector has always preserved, conserved
                                                                                                                                      and extended, while at the same time, safeguarding traditions.


                                                                                                                                            References

                                                                                                                                      [1]     https://www.lerma.it/
                                                                                                                                      [2]     https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/L’Erma_di_Bretschneider
                                                                                                                                      [3]     L’ERMA di Bretschneider: La Storia di una Casa Editrice dal 1896 https://www.
                                                                                                                                              lerma.it/download/2652/c27d165ddeb0/l-erma-di-bretschneider-la-storia-di-una-
                                                                                                                                              casa-editrice.pdf
                                                                                                                                      [4]     Moles, G. (preface) (2021) L’ERMA di Bretschneider 1896-2021: 125 anni/ years/
                                                                                                                                              jahre, Volume commemorativo con elenchi autori e biblioteche /Commemo-
                                                                                                                                              rative edition with lists of Authors and Libraries, L’ERMA di Bretschneider,
                                                                                                                                              ISBN: 9788891322425


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   Biographical notes

    Andrea Natali carries out research, didactic activities and consultancy in the sector
of heritage conservation. He has a degree in Heritage Conservation and a Master in
Community Narrators, DIBAF, at the University of Tuscia (Italy). He has received two
research grants from the University of Bologna (Italy). He has done scientific research in
the Department for Cultural Heritage and Department for Architecture and Territorial
Planning at the University of Bologna and the Institute for the Conservation and Valoriza-
tion of Cultural Heritage of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). He has taught
and continues to teach on university courses, in accademies, Masters and schools with
two-year programmes specialized in the sectors relating to conservation environments,
restoration, art diagnostics, the authentication of artworks, heritage and landscape man-
agement and valorization and the planning and promotion of artistic and cultural events.
He is the Director and a teacher at the Scuola Biennale di Alta Formazione in Archeolo-
gia Giudiziaria e Crimini Contro il Patrimonio Culturale set up by the Centre for Crimino-
logical, Legal and Sociological Studies. He is the owner of the company Andrea Natali
“Cultural Heritage Conservation”. He is a mediator/moderator. He is the Editorial Secre-
tary of the Journal “Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage” and a member of the
Scientific Committee and works in the Scientific Coordination of the journal “Scienze e
Ricerche”. He has been an Expert in the Chamber of Arbitration for public contracts at
the National Authority for Anti-corruption (ANAC). He is the author and coauthor of more
than 60 publications in the sector of conservation and valorization of cultural heritage
which include scientific monographs and treatises used as university course textbooks.
He has also been a speaker in more than 60 conventions and conferences.

    Salvatore Lorusso was formerly a full Professor in Chemistry of the Environment
and of Cultural Heritage at the University of Bologna. He is a Foreign Member of the
Russian Academy of Natural Sciences; Emeritus Professor of the Cultural Heritage




                                                                                               CONSERVATION SCIENCE IN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Institute of Zhejiang University (China); formerly a Visiting Professor at the Academy of
Social Science of Zhejiang University, China; Visiting Professor of the Faculty of Arts,
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia; formerly vice-president and Councilor of
the Società Italiana per il Progresso delle Scienze (SIPS, established in 1839). He is
the General Director of the Accademia della Cultura Enogastronomica. His biography
appears in the 2016 Marquis Edition of Who’s Who in the World. He is the author of
over 445 publications in national and international journals and 25 volumes and mono-
graphs covering commodity science, cultural heritage and environmental issues. In
1997, he founded the Diagnostic Laboratory for Cultural Heritage at the Ravenna
Campus of the University of Bologna and was head of the Laboratory for eighteen
years. In 2001 he founded the historical-technical Journal “Conservation Science in
Cultural Heritage” of which he is Editor-in-Chief. His scientific work deals mainly with
the study of the “system: artifact-environment-biota” and diagnostic, analytical, techni-
cal and economic evaluation within the context of the protection and valorization of
cultural and environmental heritage.


   Summary

   Founded in 1896, L’ERMA di Bretschneider is a historic publishing house, whose
mission is to publish works of excellent academic reputation. The topics covered by the


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                                                                                                                                      publications include archaeology, history, heritage conservation and management, Ro-
                                                                                                                                      man law, history of art and architecture, and literary criticism.
Andrea Natali, Salvatore Lorusso - L’Erma di Bretschneider: a reference point for scientific and humanistic publications since 1896




                                                                                                                                          L’ERMA di Bretschneider is unanimously recognized as the Italian publishing house
                                                                                                                                      par excellence for its scientific publications in the field of humanities, in particular ar-
                                                                                                                                      chaeology, ancient history and art history.
                                                                                                                                          The intense research activity in historical, archaeological and artistic disciplines car-
                                                                                                                                      ried out by L’ERMA in collaboration with leading experts in the field and the most presti-
                                                                                                                                      gious universities in the world, and the vast editorial catalogue which boasts over a
                                                                                                                                      century of collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and its constituent bodies and in-
                                                                                                                                      cludes prestigious series and magazines, constitute today an invaluable wealth of cultur-
                                                                                                                                      al heritage, available not only to scholars and enthusiasts, but to the entire community.




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