Angelo Colocci and the Study of Classical Inscriptions

Angelo Colocci (1467-1549) played a central role in the development of Roman antiquarianism, yet his actual work on ancient inscriptions remains largely overlooked. This article explores his approach to epigraphy, drawing upon his annotated copies of the Epigrammata antiquae urbis (Rome 1521) and the Inscriptiones sacrosanctae vetustatis (Ingolstadt 1534), alongside his epigrammatic and antiquarian manuscripts. During the 1520s, Colocci transcribed a few inscriptions and collated the Epigrammata with three manuscript collections. He preserved materials from the Roman Academy (ca. 1500), including a topographic description owned by Bertrandus Vaqueras and an excerpt by Annius of Viterbo. In the 1530s-1540s, he accessed sylloges from various scholars and continued to receive epigraphic transcriptions, often being the earliest extant source. For the first time, this study presents a comprehensive list of inscriptions transcribed by Colocci.