Anyone who is seriously interested in this topic should also read the historical background page:
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This also has the (almost) complete bibliography. A few items of common interest are on the You are not allowed to view links.
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I think that most if not all questions of Diane are answered by the two pages cited, and the third one mentioned here. While the two pages ( You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. ) are not very short, they are still quite condensed and, again, for someone seriously interested may require more than one reading pass. Links should be followed.
The 1903 catalogue was written down in 1903, as its Italian title clearly says.
The origin of the manuscripts listed in it is definitely the Collegium Romanum library. This is clear from the introduction of Ruysschaert (1959), but also clearly stated in Bignami Odier (1973). The two tables in the page about the manuscripts that WMV acquired, and the descriptions surrounding it, explain in detail which manuscripts are found in which list with references to De Ricci (1937) and the two books of De Marinis, all of which have been consulted.
The suggestion of 'theft' by the Jesuits is a straightforward historical question for which a lot of evidence exists. The answer is not straightforward. It is another interesting topic which I have hardly described.
When Italy was united (by force) by the Piemontese, putting Vittorio Emanuele II at the throne, the new government was desirous to have a 'national library' similar to the Paris Bibliotheque Nationale or the London British Museum. This did not exist, but there were many rich libraries in Rome, that were either private or owned by religious orders. The government made a list of over 10 collections that they could possibly lay their hands on, and added up the estimated number of books contained in them, resulting in over 160,000 volumes. This was going to be the National Library.
A government official was appointed, and a law was in preparation. The Jesuits were not the only ones affected, and while this was happening (1871-1872) many books were simply removed from these libraries. When the law was finally passed, in June 1873, the libraries to be confiscated had become much smaller.
One could say that it was illegal for these religious orders to withhold their possessions, but on the other hand most of the hiding occurred before the law was issued.