Read more
Colucci was born in Penna San Giovanni (archidiocese of Fermo), on the 19 th of March, in 1752.
His father Nicolantonio and his mother Palma Martini were of Santa Vittoria in Matenano. The family boasted important ancient traditions. In fact, they descended from a lineage of small feudal lords, operating between the 13 th and 14 th centuries in the pre-Apennine strip of the hinterland of Fermo and Macerata. After finishing his first studies in his native town, he moved in Fermo, in h ere he continued his studies under the direction of the Jesuits. He became a priest in 1775 and in 1781 he obtained a degree in utroque. Later he conquered the role of reader at the faculty of law.
Meantime, he started to demonstrate less interest for legal, philosophical and theological studies. In
the atmosphere of cultural renewal recorded in the peninsula since the first decades of the century,
he was particularly fascinated by the several archaeological finds in the surroundings of Fermo.
Therefore, since 1776, he devoted more attention to historical and archaeological researches, starting from the examination of the ruins of the ancient Falerio Picenus (today Piane di Falerone). Later he extended his investigations to other localities, obtaining flattering appreciations from scholars, as well as the protection of influential members of the Roman Curia, such as the cardinals Guglielmo Pallotta and Francesco Saverio de Zelada, the future secretary of state of Pius VI.
He became friends with some characters belonging to the Italian cultural world, including Annibale
degli Abati from Pesaro, Olivieri Giordani, the abbot Gian Francesco Lancellotti of Staffolo, Father
Gregorio Fontana of the University of Pavia, the Venetian Antonio Maria Zanetti, Scipione Maffei,
Francesco Saverio Castiglioni (later, Pope Pius VIII), and Girolamo Tiraboschi. There was a dense
exchange of letters between them for a long time, especially with Tiraboschi. Some academies of
the Papal State welcomed him among its members. After being a member of the Accademia degli
Erranti of Fermo, of the Georgici sollevati of Treia, he also entered the Clementina of Bologna and
the Arcadia of Rome, with the pseudonym of Lacinio Telamonio.
Over the years he decided to enlarge the range of his interests to the whole Piceno area. This idea
became more and more concrete when he started to plan a work (Colucci had foreseen ten volumes as you may read in a letter by Castiglioni, written on the 24 th of July, in 1784, and preserved in the Mozzi Borgetti Library, in Macerata) which would illustrate the “antiquities of the homelands”. For this purpose, in 1783, he created and distributed two manifestos. In a manifesto he explained the plan of the work and asked to be associated with the project; in the other one, he solicited news and documents by proposing a list of twenty-nine questions.
Unfortunately, only a few communities provided the answers, despite the pressure from Cardinal Pallotta; and there was also a certain discontent and intolerance against him demonstrated by anonymous letters and impolite replies. However, he did not abandon the project.
Strengthened by the encouragement of his friends, as well as the support of his Roman protectors
(he was appointed apostolic prothonotary, in 1784), he published the first volume About Picene
Antiquity (I-XXXII, Fermo 1786-1797) in Fermo in 1786, where he added, together with some of his previous works, the dissertation on the Origin of the Piceni by Michele Catalani. The volume, dedicated to Pius VI, was well received by the pope, who granted Colucci the faculties of accessing the libraries and archives, even the secret ones, of all the communities and monasteries belonging to the Piceno region. Furthermore, with a chirograph dated 27 June of the same year, the pope ordered that “each city, land or castle in the Piceno area should have a copy of the work” (cf. Hercolani, II., p. 49).
From that moment on, Colucci, who had already set up a typography with a chalcography and a
bookshop for the distribution of volumes – the Libreria di Pallade -, started an intense activity, and
within a decade, he brought to thirty-one the volumes of the Antiquities (four booklets of plates,
considered as the volume XXXII must be added).
Unable to obtain information and documents on his own, he welcomed and inserted in his volumes
the contributions of researchers who wanted to honor the past of their cities. And he often accompanied them with some presentations and annotations. Besides he set up an editorial team made up by his direct collaborators, which included Catalani and Giuseppe Vogel. The latter was a priest obliged to emigrate from Alsace.
The work collects a lot of documents and news, from the Pre-Roman Age to the late Middle Age and faced a lot of themes (from archeology to physical and anthropic geography, to economic, artistic and cultural activities; from political institutes to religious, administrative and juridical events, military events, folkloric characters etc …). Thus, it is often disorganized and sometimes plethoric. It is composed of dissertations often sent by researchers too much influenced by local pride suggestions and provided with different cultural levels. Therefore, it belonged to the eighteenth-century for its themes and for its effort in giving more importance to traditions and homeland glories. The settings and organization are also typical of that period. It is largely influenced by the compilatory way of writing of philologists and scholars of the Baroque age.
However, even today, despite its objective limits, it remains a valuable and useful source for scholars and thanks to this work Colucci assumed the nickname of “Mason of the Marches”.
As the volumes grew in number, Colucci had to face attacks from some malicious critics. They reproached him for the lack of critical analysis and disagreed with the theses he had approved. They even demanded the conclusion of the work or at least the removal of the constraint of compulsory association by the pope. He was frequently involved in hateful discussions only partially justified by the rudeness of certain accusations. Due to the aggravation of the military-political events, he interrupted the publication in 1797, even if he went on collecting material, as evidenced by the twenty unpublished volumes. He could have taken it back in 1800, if he had not given in to pressure from Msgr. Cesare Brancadoro. Colucci had a strong friendship with him and when Brancadoro was appointed bishop of Orvieto, he asked him to be his vicar general. He retained this position even when the cardinal was transferred to the archiepiscopal seat of Fermo (1803).
He died on 16 th March, in 1809, in Fermo
(Entry edited by Carlo Verducci in Treccani’s Biographical Dictionary of Italians)