About twenty-seven years after the Duke's death, Alexander VII., being at a loss how to furnish with books the library of his newly-erected university, the Sapienza, at Rome, bethought himself of the collection at Castel Durante; and on the assumption of its very limited utility there, and of the excellent purpose to which it might be made subservient at the Sapienza, transported it thither. He had previously obtained a sort of forced consent on the part of the monks of the Crucifixion to this arrangement, by promising to the convent of their order at Rome the custody of the new library, and other favours: the opposition of the Confraternita della Grotta he had also neutralised, by purchasing their reversionary interest in the bequest. The transaction was enveloped in great secrecy, in anticipation of opposition from the grand-ducal family, or from the citizens of Castel Durante; indeed, when the removal of the books was begun, the latter manifested such indignation and discontent, that about five hundred volumes were allowed to remain for their use. Notwithstanding this concession, and their unwillingness to agree to the arrangement, the monks were for a long time greatly persecuted by the people; their Provost fled in terror of his life, and nothing but dread of papal censures would have induced their compliance. Upon the pretext that persons bound to reside in a cloister, at some distance, could not be efficient guardians of the new library at Rome, even the promised boon was withheld from their brethren of S. Lorenzo, who received in compensation the lectureship of moral philosophy at the Sapienza, along with certain exemptions affecting the internal discipline of their order. The consulting catalogue of the Vatican Urbino MSS., now used by the librarians, was compiled in 1797 by Mauro Coster, and being alphabetical, does not show the number of MSS.; but the numeration of articles exceeds 4000. In it, at No. 1388, will be found another catalogue by Stefano Gradio, wherein the numeration of volumes, many of them containing several articles, amounts to 1361; but in the general catalogue for reference, the volumes are only 1026. Under the regulations prohibiting indiscriminate access to the Vatican catalogues, I have not been able satisfactorily to reconcile these discrepancies, nor to pronounce upon the accuracy of any of these calculations; they, however, afford sufficient data to estimate the extent of the Urbino MSS. Their value is probably greater in reference to their number than that of any other component portion of the Vatican collection; indeed, than any existing library except the Laurentian; but this point, too, must remain unresolved, so long as the present restrictions are maintained.[*128]