Research and Outreach

The Antonian Studies Center (CSA) was founded in 1959 and is now recognized as a scientific research institute of the Italian Province of Saint Anthony of Padova of the Friars Minor Conventual. Our Centre promotes and coordinates meetings, research and scholarly studies dedicated to the doctrine, history, tradition and hagiography associated with Saint Anthony, with a careful focus on Franciscan and Antonian popular devotion.

Particular attention is devoted to the Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padova, which over the centuries has been a cultural hub, especially in the arts and music.

Since 1961, the Antonian Studies Center has further established itself through the publication of the scientific quarterly “Il Santo. Rivista francescana di storia dottrina e arte”, devoted to the Franciscan and Antonian tradition in its historical, artistic, musical, theological and intellectual dimensions. The journal has been recognized by ANVUR as a scholarly publication and has an editorial board that includes researchers from various Italian and international academic institutions.

The CSA offers the opportunity to consult its library (available online within the Padova library system: https://galileodiscovery.unipd.it/
) and its iconographic collection (photo archive, catalogues of medals and prints). It also organizes study conferences and events celebrating Franciscan history, with the participation of national and international scholars and academic speakers. The Antonian Studies Center is also active in publishing through several series:

• Centro Studi Antoniani, texts related to Franciscan cultural history;
• Fonti e Studi Francescani, featuring sources and studies from across the entire Conventual Franciscan family;
• Corpus Musicum Franciscanum, musical texts from the Conventual Franciscan tradition;
• Quaderni del Museo Antoniano, exhibition catalogues and art-focused monographs, produced in collaboration with the Associazione Museo Antoniano.