Angelo Rocca

[2] He gained admission into the Convent of the Augustinians in Camerino when he was merely seven years old, and completed his education at Perugia, at Rome and at Padua, where in 1577 he graduated in theology.

A keen scholar of codes, because of his background and competence, Rocca was requested by Pope Sixtus V to fill the office of Director of the Vatican Printing Press.

[6] The nephew of Aldus Manutius, the great Venetian typographer, happened to work in the Vatican Printing Office, whose acquaintance Rocca had made in Venice and with whom there existed a close bond of friendship.

Aldo's typographical activity, even if far from the standard of refined elegance of that of his grandfather, enjoyed in those days a very good reputation, to the extent that his editions were highly appreciated and very much sought-after.

Rocca and Manutius shared a common interest in Christian Neoplatonism which sought to explore a mystical relationship between divine and human phenomena.

[1] As evidence of this commitment there is still in existence at the "Angelica" a Bible of 1590 with autograph annotations and marginal notes by Sistus V. This is one of the few copies left of the Sistine edition which in 1592, by order of Clement VIII, the new Pope, was withdrawn from circulation and burned.

Its holdings were further enriched through donations and purchases; particularly significant were the acquisitions of the personal libraries of Lucas Holstenius (1661) and Cardinal Domenico Silvio Passionei (1765).