Ambrogio M. Piazzoni is the Vice Prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library, first layman to hold this position. A graduate of Sapienza-University of Rome, educated in Medieval History and specialized in Palaeography, he spent a number of years as a cataloguer of manuscripts in the Vatican Library before taking charge for the introduction of the computerized cataloguing of manuscripts. As Vice Prefect (1999), he is also the scientific director of cataloguing of the Vatican Library manuscripts and director of the Library’s publishing department. He teaches “Latin Palaeography”, which pertains to both writing and illuminations, at the Augustinianum University in Rome. He published a number of books and more than a hundred articles in scholarly journals and collective works, on subjects related to Medieval cultural history, biblical exegesis in the Middle Age, Church history and history of the Vatican Library.