Still furnished with its original eighteenth-century shelving, the Library houses valuable works not only in the humanities but also in the fields of science, religion, and technology, as well as resources linked to the new cultural directions of Enlightenment Europe. A prime example is the Encyclopédie, whose Livorno edition was promoted in Cortona by Filippo Venuti, one of the Academy’s founders and its Lucumone (president).
Above the fireplace hangs the coat of arms of the Accademia Etrusca: the tripod, symbol of Apollo, represents the instrument through which even the most obscure questions may be answered; the serpent indicates the wisdom that inspires those answers; the star alludes to Electra, mythical daughter of Atlas and wife of Coritus, founder and king of Cortona; finally, the mural crown refers to the Academy’s profound bond with the city where it is based. Together, these allegorical figures explain the meaning of the motto inscribed beneath the coat of arms, taken from Lucretius’ De rerum natura (Book I): OBSCURA DE RE LUCIDA PANGO (“From an obscure matter I compose something clear”).
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Location: third floor of the MAEC
