A Jacobite Gazetteer - Lazio

Frascati - Seminario


The Seminary of the Diocese of Frascati was formerly located in Piazza del Gesù; the building was destroyed by Allied bombing raids during the Second World War. Henry, Cardinal Duke of York (later King Henry IX and I) founded the seminary in 1770; formerly it had been a Jesuit institution, but Pope Clement XIV transferred it to episcopal jurisdiction.

In an anteroom is a Latin inscription:

HENRICO · CARD · DVCI · EBORAC · NVNCVP
EPISCOPO · TVSCVLANOR · AN · XLII
QVOD · PER · AVITA · REGIAE · STIRPIS · EXEMPLA · GRADIENS · ARCEM
A · SOLO · OPERIB · AMPLIATIS · RESTITVERIT · SACRAS · AEDES · SVPELLE
CTILE · ET · DONARIIS · AVXERIT · SEMINARIVM · CONTINENTIBVS
ADIECTIS · AEDIFICIIS · LAXATVM · OFFICINA · LIBRARIA · AC · BIBLIOTHE
CA · MVLTIS · VOLVM · MILIBVS · INSTRVCTA · LOCVPLETARIT · FVNDOS
ET · REDITVS · AD · NVM · ARGENTEOR · CCCI))) · ALENDIS · INSTITVEN
DISQVE · CONTVBERNALIB · ADSIGNAVERIT
IOS · CARD · AB · AVRIA · QVI · ET · PAMPHILIVS
EPISCOP · SVCCESSOR
NE · TANTOR · BENEFACTORVM · MEMORIA · SEQVENTIB · TEMPORIBVS
INTERCIDAT · P · C · AN · MDCCCIII ·


Inscription in anteroom
 

In the same room are kept several of Henry's chasubles which are decorated with his coat-of-arms when Duke of York.

Red chasuble
Chasuble of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York
Red chasuble coat-of-arms
Coat-of-arms of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York
 
White chasuble
Chasuble of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York
White chasuble coat-of-arms
Coat-of-arms of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York

The chapel was dedicated by Henry. The walls are decorated with grisailles. The chapel is now used as a storage room.


Chapel
 

Rear of the chapel

On the back wall of the chapel is a painted Latin inscription, surmounted by Henry's coat-of-arms when Duke of York (the Royal Arms differenced with a crescent):

D· O· M·
IN HONOREM CONCEPTIONIS
IMMACULATÆ VIRGINIS MARIÆ
DICATVM
FOVENDÆ CONVIGTORVM PIETATI
EXSTRVXIT OPNAVITQVE
HENRICVS EPISCOPVS TVSCVLANVS
CARDINALIS DVX EBORACENSIS
ANNO JUBILAI MDCCLXXV


Chapel inscription

The Library of the Seminary was established by Henry. Much of the collection still survives; today the Library is still called the Eboracense (Eboracum is the Latin name for York). 1 At one time the Library housed what survived of Henry's personal book collection. In 1944 some 32 volumes from Henry's library were transferred to the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome.

Library
Library

The Library of the Seminary formerly contained a white marble bust of Henry, sculpted by Agostino Penna. The bust is now in the episcopal palace in Frascati, La Rocca. 2 The pedestal on which the bust formerly stood remains in the Library. The Latin inscription on the pedestal reads as follows:

HENRICO DVCI EBORACENSI
CARDINALI A BENEDICTO XIV P.M.
V· NON· IVL· A· D· MDCCXLVII· CREATO
MOX ARCHIPRESBYTERO BAS· VATIC· CONSTITVTO
A CLEMENTE XIII·
ARCHIEPISCOPO CORINTHI
XIII· KAL· DECEMB· MDCCLVIII· CONSECRATO
DEINDE III · ID· IVL· MDCCLXI·
AD ECCLESIAM TVSCVLANVM TRANSLATO
ET AB EODEM P· M· S· R· E· VICECANCELLARIO
IX· KAL· FEBR· MDCCLXIII· RENVNCIATO
PRINCIPI MVNIFICENTISSIMO
QVOD
PRAETER BENEFICIA ADIVNCTVS AEDIEVS
LARGE COLLATA
BIBLIOTHECAM HANC A FVNDAMENTIS BREXERIT
ET INGENTI LIBRORVM SVPELLECTILE
INSTRVXERIT
SEMINARIVM TVSCVLANVM
G· A· M· P· AN· IVB· MDCCLXXV·

Bust base
Bust base

Notes

1 Giuseppe Toffanello, Frascati: Civitas Tusculana, terza edizione (Frascati: Edizione Tuscolo, 1966), 139.

2 Amy Vitteleschi, A Court in Exile (London: Hutchison, 1903), II, 435.

Image 1 (Inscription in anteroom): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 2 (Chasuble of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 3 (Coat-of-arms of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 4 (Chasuble of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 5 (Coat-of-arms of Henry, Cardinal Duke of York): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 6 (Chapel): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 7 (Rear of the chapel): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 8 (Chapel inscription): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 9 (Library): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.

Image 10 (Bust base): © Noel S. McFerran 2004.


This page is maintained by Noel S. McFerran (noel.mcferran@rogers.com) and was last updated September 3, 2008.
© Noel S. McFerran 2000-2008.