  We present the first part of the first large and homogeneous CCD
color-magnitude diagram (CMD) data base, comprising 52 nearby Galactic globular
clusters (GGC) imaged in the V and I bands using only two telescopes (one for
each hemisphere). The observed clusters represent 75% of the known Galactic
globulars with (m-M)v<=16.15 mag, cover most of the globular cluster
metallicity range (-2.2 <= [Fe/H] <= -0.4), and span Galactocentric distances
from ~1.2 to ~18.5 kpc.
  In this paper, the CMDs for the 39 GGCs observed in the southern hemisphere
are presented. The remaining 13 northern hemisphere clusters of the catalog are
presented in a companion paper. For four clusters (NGC 4833, NGC 5986, NGC
6543, and NGC 6638) we present for the first time a CMD from CCD data. The
typical CMD spans from the 22nd V magnitude to the tip of the red giant branch.
Based on a large number of standard stars, the absolute photometric calibration
is reliable to the ~0.02 mag level in both filters.
  This catalog, because of its homogeneity, is expected to represent a useful
data base for the measurement of the main absolute and relative parameters
characterizing the CMD of GGCs.
