Italian Senator Acquitted in Case Related to the Massive Girolamini Library Book Theft
- by Michael Stillman
Marcello Dell'Utri.
In an offshoot of the massive Girolamini Library theft case, former Italian Senator Marcello Dell'Utri has been acquitted of the charges leveled against him. Dell'Utri was once a powerful politician in Italy. A founder of the Forza Italia party which brought Silvio Berlusconi to power as Prime Minister, Dell'Utri had enormous influence. Berlusconi, still active in Italian politics, was eventually convicted of tax fraud, Dell'Utri a more serious charge of cooperating with the Mafia. It netted him seven years in prison. His term ended in 2019.
However, throughout this time, Dell'Utri faced a second charge, this related to the Girolamini Library theft case. In that case, the former director of the library, Massimo De Caro, was convicted of stealing thousands of books from that library. No one is quite sure how De Caro got that job, he having no qualifications for it, but one can be confident he had some connections somewhere. De Caro stole around 4,000 old and valuable books, often coming in at night and walking out with them, which he sent all over the world. Their total value is unknown but likely is tens of millions of dollars. A good number of the books made it to a German auction house where they were to be sold to unsuspecting buyers. De Caro also received a seven-year prison sentence for his efforts.
That takes us to the recently dropped case against Mr. Dell'Utri. Dell'Utri is a bibliophile, and quite a serious one at that. His collection consists of 30,000-40,000 books. He is also a friend of Massimo De Caro, the two sharing a love of books and seven-year prison sentences. They have much in common. Over the course of his library directorship, De Caro gifted Dell'Utri with 14 books, highly collectible ones taken from the Girolamini Library. This is a pittance considering the size of Dell'Utri's library, but these are the 14 that got him in hot water. He was charged with complicity with De Caro's embezzlement of books. These 14 enabled prosecutors to seize Dell'Utri's entire library.
Prosecutors believed that many more books in Dell'Utri's library had questionable origins, but he was charged with receiving these 14 as they could be traced to De Caro's thefts. They asked for another sentence of seven years in prison for Dell'Utri, this evidently being a popular prison term in Italy. Dell'Utri maintained his innocence, saying he had no knowledge of the untoward origin of the books his friend gave him. Why would gifts of 14 antiquarian books from the director of an antiquarian library cause any suspicion by a trusting friend?
After years of investigations and charges, the court ruled in Dell'Utri's favor. Its judgment was rendered on the basis “the fact does not exist.” That is an odd way of saying it, a linguistic contradiction, or perhaps something is lost in the translation. Whatever, the court did not accept the claim that Dell'Utri participated in the theft or was even aware of what happened. He was a babe in the woods.
Although found innocent, Dell'Utri feels he has been seriously punished already for the allegations. La Repubblica quoted him as saying (in translation), “I am happy that the reasons of the defense have finally been heard. This sentence restores my bibliophile soul to a large extent, but unfortunately it cannot restore that physical integrity and psychological serenity that I have lacked in many years of judicial and media accusations. This investigation really made me suffer more than prison.” He continued, "I was ill for this thing. I had to put in three stents, because this has done me more damage than the same incarceration.” His lawyers added, “We are very satisfied because we were able to demonstrate that Dell'Utri had nothing to do with the appointment of De Caro as director. The former senator was not aware of the provenance of those books donated by De Caro."
Sotheby’s Shelf Life: Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper from the Library of Stanley J. Seeger and Christopher Cone 25 June – July 7
Sotheby’s, July 7: Ludwig van Beethoven. Autograph sketches for the overture "Die Weihe des Hauses", op.124, [1822], UNPUBLISHED. £150,000 to £200,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice, 1813, first edition, 3 volumes, contemporary half calf. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Walt Whitman. Leaves of Grass, Brooklyn, 1855, first edition, first issue, original green cloth, the Doheny copy. £50,000 to £70,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: Binding—Sangorski & Sutcliffe—Omar Khayyam. Rubaiyat, London, 1872, third edition, in a magnificent jewelled Peacock binding. £15,000 to £20,000.
Sotheby’s, July 7: George Eliot. Middlemarch, Edinburgh and London, 1871, first edition in the original parts. £20,000 to £30,000.
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Hassall (Joan) A large collection of over 300 original woodblocks of engravings for various books, v.d., with Hassall's engraver's glass water-globe (Qty) - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Eragny Press.- [Bradley (Katherine Harris) & Edith Emma Cooper], "Michael Field." Whym Chow, Flame of Love, one of only 27 copies, inscribed by Bradley, the rarest book from the press, 1914. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: [Moore (Thomas Sturge)] [Wood Engravings], 71 wood-engravings printed by David Chambers from the original blocks, the only set on Japanese Hosho paper, from an edition of 5 sets, [1970]. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: La Fontaine (Jean de) Contes et Nouvelles en vers, 2 vol., engraved plates after Eisen, fine early 19th century blue morocco, gilt, by Bradel l'ainé, Amsterdam [Paris], 1762. - Est. £2,000-3,000
Forum, July 9: Erotica.- Prostitution.- Pretty Women of Paris (The); Their Names and Addresses, Qualities and Faults..., [Paris], privately printed at the Press of the Prefecture de Police, 1883. - Est. £3,000-4,000
Forum, July 9: Vale Press.- Ricketts (Charles) & Lucien Pissarro. De la Typographie et de l'Harmonie de la Page Imprimée…, [one of 216 copies], bound in dark blue morocco tooled in gilt, by Sarah T.Prideaux, 1898. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Martin (John) Illustrations of the Bible, complete set of 20 mezzotints, good impressions, rarely found in early states, [c.1831-1835]. - Est. £1,000-1,500
Forum, July 9: Golden Cockerel Press.- Four Gospels of the Lord Jesus Christ (The), one of 500 copies, Mary Gill's copy, Waltham St. Lawrence, 1931 with a signed proof of engraving on japon numbered 10/10 (2) - Est. £5,000-7,000
Forum, July 9: Boccaccio (Giovanni) The Decameron, 3 vol., vol.1 extra-illustrated by John Buckland Wright with c.150 erotic original drawings in pen & ink and pencil, 1886 [extra-illustrated c.1940]. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum Auctions The Private Library: Fine Printing & Private Press books, the collection of the late David Chambers July 9, 2026
Forum, July 9: Cox (Morris) Collection of Gogmagog Press Books, 35 vol., rare complete collection of printed books issued by the press, limited editions, most signed by Cox, 1957-83. - Est. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 9: Wynkyn de Worde.- [Terentius Afer (Publius)] [Comedie...], [Paris, Josse Badius: sold in London by Wynkyn de Worde, & others], [15 July 1504]. - Est. £4,000-6,000
Forum, July 9: Mosley (James) Ornamented Types. Twenty-Three Alphabets from the Foundry of Louis John Pouchée, 2 vol., one of 10 copies for presentation, from an edition of 210, 1992-93. - Est. £1,000-2,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Inundation papyrus. P.Michael 4, the ‘Inundation papyrus’, a geographical account of the Nile near Canopus, in Greek, remains of two columns from a manuscript scroll on papyrus, Egypt, second century CE. £12,000-18,000
Forum, July 16: Book of Hours, use of Sarum, manuscript on vellum, 6 full-page miniatures, with famous Middle English inscriptions, Southern Netherlands for the English market, [c.1430]. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Qu'ran, Arabic manuscript on burnished, stencilled, and gold-flecked paper, 447ff., Sultanate Gujarat, Ahmadabad, [after 1411 but no later than 1442]. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Turner (William). A New boke of the natures and properties of all wines that are commonly vsed here in England, rare first edition of the first English book on wine, By William Seres, 1568. £20,000-£30,000
Forum, July 16: Spenser (Edmund). The Faerie Queene. first edition, Printed [by John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, 1590. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Shakespeare (William). The Comedie of Errors, extracted from the first folio, Isaac Jaggard and Edward Blount, 1623. £15,000-20,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Fleming (Ian). Casino Royale, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, 1953. £40,000-60,000
Forum, July 16: d'Agoty (Jacques-Fabien Gautier). Anatomie de la Tête, first edition, Paris, chez le Sieur Gautier, 1748. £10,000-15,000
Forum, July 16: Martial Arts.- Lee (Bruce). 'Praying Mantis style' Kung Fu book, containing numerous annotations, diagrams and graphs in Bruce Lee's hand, c. 1960. £50,000-70,000
Forum Auctions The 10th Anniversary Sale Fine Books, Manuscripts and Works on Paper July 16, 2026
Forum, July 16: Warre (Capt. Henry James). Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory, first edition, rare hand-coloured issue, 1848. £30,000-40,000
Forum, July 16: Norie (John William). The Marine Atlas, or Seaman's Complete Pilot for all the principal places in the known world..., 1826. £30,000-50,000
Forum, July 16: Mao Tse-tung.- Kim Il-sung.-[Note book for visitors from China to Korea], signed by Mao and Kim, [Beijing, 1954]. £10,000-15,000
