Carlo Firmian, Friedrich Melchior Grimm e il manoscritto dei Salons di Denis Diderot

The essay investigates the historical background of the manuscript BnF, n.a.fr. 12961, which once belonged to Carlo Firmian, Plenipotentiary Minister of Austrian Lombardy and an important collector and bibliophile. It contains a series of extracts from Friedrich Melchior Grimm’s Correspondance littéraire, including Diderot’s Salons of 1761, 1763, 1765 and the beginning of 1767. The manuscript copy was commissioned by Firmian from German journalist during the latter’s Italian trip in 1775-1776 and was sent to Milan in May 1779. The request for Diderot’s writings was the result of the Plenipotentiary Minister’s keen interest in the works by the French author, as is also confirmed by his library.