This summer, Assistant Professor Francesco A. Morriello in the Book and Media Studies program at St. Michael’s College conducted archival research in Spain, working in several historic repositories including the Archivo General de Indias in Seville and the Real Biblioteca del Palacio Real in Madrid.
Morriello’s research examines print culture and communication networks among Catholic missionaries from the 17th to the 19th centuries, tracing connections between Rome’s Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide (the central administrative body for Catholic missions) and religious orders like the Jesuits, Dominicans, and Franciscans across the Spanish and French empires.
“These religious orders, along with several others, operated at the front lines of early global networks. Long before modern mass media, these orders helped run the infrastructure through translating, publishing, and distributing texts across the Atlantic and Pacific worlds,” Morriello explains. “In looking at locally printed works such as educational books, devotional texts, newspapers, and even travel books, you get a sense of how they shaped and were shaped by local cultures.”
Researching print media that exposes the limits of imperial control
His work reveals insights into the kinds of print materials generated thousands of miles away from European capitals in the early to late modern period, and how print media connected missionaries across great distances, playing a vital role in expanding Catholic networks from Europe to the Atlantic and Pacific worlds, including the Caribbean and the Philippines. The vastness of the correspondence networks show just how interconnected the early to late modern world was – far more than previously thought.
“I wanted to see exactly what kinds of print media were being generated and circulated in the Caribbean and Asia, and the extent to which they differed from or bore similarities to such works printed in Spain. These print flows expose the limits of centralized imperial control, highlighting how local actors, indigenous translators, and missionaries on the ground adapted and reinterpreted mandates to suit regional realities, and in doing so, occasionally clashed with colonial officials,” he says.
From a research perspective, this process was not straightforward. Many of the printed works are considered ephemera, “designed to be read and discarded afterwards. Because of this, sources such as newspapers might appear as a single issue, folded inside a letter, rather than as a complete print run,” he adds.
‘Printing that left such a deep impression that you could feel it on every page’
Professor Morriello’s photographs offer a behind-the-scenes look at his archival research process: he consulted thousands of rare manuscripts, letters, and printed materials dating back 300 to 400 years. As shown in the image of the document bundle from the Archivo General de Indias, the files are massive, containing hundreds of individual pages that must be carefully unfolded and assessed individually.
“Consulting authentic 18th-century manuscripts there while horse-drawn carriages clattered along the cobblestones outside was easily one of the most memorable moments of the trip.”
In another photo, Professor Morriello is inside the Royal Library of the Royal Palace of Madrid beneath the gilded ceilings and carved wooden shelves, holding rare books from a collection totaling hundreds of thousands of volumes. Founded in 1712 by King Philip V, Spain’s first Bourbon monarch, the library was established both as a repository of rare texts and a legal depository for every book printed in the kingdom.
“Consulting these books, many of which date back to the 17th and 18th centuries, revealed extraordinary attention to detail,” he says. “Spines and edges were frequently gilded, endpapers were marbled, and the letterpress printing left such a deep impression that you could feel it on every page.”
‘Holding [books] in my hands allowed me to physically engage with the world I was studying’
Historical research involves engaging with material culture and the physical landscapes where history took place. His photos highlight iconic Spanish landmarks, from the sunlit Plaza de España to the lush gardens of the Royal Alcázar, and even the main courtyard of the Royal Palace of Madrid.
“It felt surreal to see the extreme lavishness of the palaces from the frescoes on the ceilings to the enormous tapestries adorning their halls. But if you pay close attention, you will see that these artworks only depict part of the history of the Spanish Empire: not all of it, and these silences are where research comes to the fore.”
The materiality of interacting with the books themselves also affected his research, adding nuance to his work, such as analyzing handwritten margin notes from the 18th century.
“While working in the Royal Library inside the Royal Palace of Madrid, I consulted many beautifully crafted books that originally belonged to the Spanish Crown, each adorned with ornate bookplates and detailed in gold leaf. Holding them in my hands allowed me to physically engage with the world I was studying – an experience far more immersive than simply reading about it.”
Morriello’s summer research will culminate in the publication of his second book, alongside several peer-reviewed articles. He will also be incorporating some of his findings into his courses that focus on the history of books and media.
“I want to provide students with a truly immersive experience grounded in unexamined archival materials and cutting-edge historical scholarship.”
Prof. Morriello in the classroom
This fall, Prof. Morriello will be teaching BMS200Y1: Book & Media Histories, a second-year course which provides a comprehensive, global history of books, print culture, and media from the ancient world to the age of AI and a first-year course on Victorian print / media culture and Sherlock Holmes: SMC192H1: Sherlock Holmes: Mass Media and Fan Culture from the Victorians to the Present Day.