"Towianist Documents in the Wroblewski Library"

Towianism was the doctrine of the religious movement for social reformation named after Andrzej Towiański (1799-1878). A former Vilnius Supreme Court Council member, Towiański left Lithuania in 1840 and joined the Polish emigration in Paris. He propagated a renewal message based on Christian principles, which  aimed to reform the political relations of Europe and, thus, the restoration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth through personal reform. Towiański’s message attracted many nationalist intellectuals, leading to the formation of „Circles” in various countries. Following  Towiański’s teachings, the Towianists actively participated in  the processes of Nation-State formation, from the Spring of Nations to the First World War.

After Towiański died in 1878, the Italian Circle took over the movement’s leadership role, which promoted intellectual collaboration between the Towianists and Polish scholars, especially at the University of Vilnius (Stefan Batory University). The beginning of World War II suddenly interrupted the Towianists’ connections and academic interest in Towianism in the Baltic region, which was under Soviet influence.

The Wroblewski Library houses the collection of Walentyna Horoszkiewiczówna (1890-1947), a lecturer at Stefan Batory University, found in collection F 98. She was a third-generation student of the thinker Andrzej Towiański, meaning she never had the chance to meet Towiański in person. As one of the last active Towianists, W. Horoszkiewiczówna corresponded with many other Towianists, especially in Italy. Her role at the university helped promote academic research on Towiański in Vilnius and throughout Poland and Italy.

Dr. G. Dalla Grana’s lecture reviews the documents stored at The Wroblewski Library in the W. Horoszkiewiczówna´s collection (F 98). These documents reveal the cultural, academic, and even personal relationships between Italian and Polish intellectuals, thus restoring the Turin-Vilnius connections.

Lecturer Giulio Dalla Grana obtained his PhD through a joint programme between the University of Turin (Department of Historical Studies) and the University of Amsterdam (Centre for the History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents). He graduated in Political Science and International Studies as part of a double-degree programme between the University of Padua and the Jagiellonian University in Cracow. His research primarily focuses on the relationship between political power and religious authority, the history of political and religious movements in early modern and modern history, and the mutual interweaving of political and religious ideas. This research led to the discovery of thousands of documents scattered across Poland, Lithuania, France, Switzerland, Italy, and the Vatican City. Dr. Giulio Dalla Grana reconstructed the history of the Towianist movement, adding new narratives.