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Founded in 1986, the Amuletum Bookstore takes its name and trade mark after a table drawing in the 2nd volume of the Odescalchum Museum, illustrated by Pietro Sante Bartoli and published in Rome in 1752. The trade mark (also our ex libris) is representative of our cultural heritage: "an owl figure, its head crowned with a Minervan helmet, indicates that wisdom shines brightly also within obscurity; the staff represents strength while the bow and arrow portray the eloquence of wisdom: indeed, wisdom strikes with words and reaches deep into our souls. The olive tree indicates that in time of peace, the study of liberal arts is free to blossom; the Gorgon represents the ability of wise men to surmount all difficulties; the column indicates that wisdom is acquired with steadfastness and obstinate determination while the vase resting on the column refers to the rewards obtained by the learned and the scholarly. " This is the literal translation of the latin text and commentary on the Bartoli engraving. It reflects our concept of culture as the foundation for peace and harmony among men and women. Our bookstore contains a vast array of texts: books and manuscripts from the distant past, testimonies of passions born in antiquity, texts which are symbols of love in themselves, as seen in their designs, embossing and printing moulds, as well as in their illustrations; as well as texts from more recent eras which still emanate the ardency of their passions, dreams and errors. These texts share a common history as vessels for imparting knowledge and as messengers of mankind's wisdom. |