Visitors to the exhibition will have the opportunity to “meet” Consul Cesare Poma midway through the exhibition path. Now retired, he will welcome guests into the study of his Biella residence, where he spent the last twenty-two years of his life after withdrawing from diplomatic service (1910-1932).
Objects belonging to diplomat Cesare Poma. Photo © Vatican Apostolic Library
His study has been reconstructed and adorned with objects that once belonged to him, generously provided by some of his heirs: siblings Elena, Eugenia, Gabriele and Marco Galateri di Genola. These include items he acquired during his stay in Tianjin (April 18, 1901 – July 30, 1903) or had specially made, such as a personal seal and business cards inscribed in the language of the Celestial Empire. Visitors will recognize bundles of Chinese documents dating back to the period when Poma governed the Italian Concession and received those “beautiful red envelopes” inscribed in “beautiful Chinese characters,” which he would often recall with undiminished wonder after his return to Italy. Also on display will be menus collected by the Consul during his diplomatic career and extensive travels, along with his diplomatic trunk, still bearing its initials, stamps, and seals from each transfer.
Through this intimate reconstruction, visitors will gain a new yet complementary perspective on Cesare Poma’s intellectual pursuits, particularly his meticulous research into Italian onomastics. For years, he dedicated himself to this study with scholarly rigor, compiling minute index cards on white, colored, or repurposed paper, each noting a name, its dating and geographic origin, and the source from which it was drawn. He was particularly interested in obituaries, as he considered them a ready-made index of Italian surnames—he would simply cut them out, cross out the text, and retain the deceased’s surname along with the location of death or burial.
Monete dal Medagliere di Cesare Poma, collezione Guagno. ©Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
The Poma Coin Collection
Alongside his personal items and documents, a priceless Chinese numismatic collection will be on display, part of a larger assemblage donated to the Vatican Library by his cousin, Enrico Guagno. The collection comprises over 800 pieces, ranging from 2356 BCE (according to local chronology) to 1875 CE. Poma’s approach to numismatics was not merely that of a collector of relics or souvenirs; he saw these artifacts as valuable subjects of study, which he examined extensively during his retirement in Biella and shared through academic channels in Italy.
In addition to coins, the collection includes amulets from various periods, among which several stand out for their religious significance. One features a dragon and a tiger on the obverse, with a depiction of a Taoist deity and the auspicious inscription May all evil spirits be banished on the reverse. Another displays Zhang Guo Lao, one of the Eight Immortals, traditionally depicted as an old man riding his white mule backward. The collection also includes pseudo-coins portraying a horse on the reverse—tokens used in the board game Da Ma, popular during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Finally, the Consul will bid farewell to his guests by revealing his personal album—a leather-bound volume in which he meticulously assembled diverse mementos of his life. These varied in nature, origin, type, and appearance, yet together they paint the portrait of a man who was not only a diplomat by profession and a scholar by passion but also a theater enthusiast, an avid collector, a tireless traveler, a photography lover, and, quite likely, an incorrigible bon vivant.