Tesori. Il patrimonio della Biblioteca nazionale centrale di Roma

To mark the 150th anniversary of its foundation (1876–2026), the National Central Library of Rome presents an exhibition of outstanding historical, artistic and documentary significance, featuring over one hundred works, including manuscripts, rare printed editions, archival documents and multimedia installations.

The exhibition traces centuries of book history and intellectual heritage, from early medieval codices, including Saint Augustine’s Confessions, dating from the sixth century, to illuminated manuscripts such as the Psalter of Sixtus IV. The collection also features incunabula, editions published by Aldus Manutius and first editions of works by Giordano Bruno. Of particular interest are the cartographic and graphic collections, featuring the Pareto World Map of 1455 and the Qibla Indicator, alongside historical views of Rome and Oriental and African collections, reflecting the encounter between different cultures and traditions.

Italian literature also occupies a prominent place, with documents relating to Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, Giacomo Leopardi, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Elsa Morante and Pier Paolo Pasolini. One of the exhibition’s highlights is the first-ever public display of manuscripts of several significant works by Italo Calvino, loaned by the publishing house Mondadori, alongside materials from recent acquisitions.

Arranged across three distinct spaces, the exhibition explores the Library’s history through archival documents and original artefacts, concluding in the Italo Calvino Room, dedicated to twentieth-century literature.

Opened on 14 March 1876, when Rome had been the capital of Italy for just five years, the Library was established to represent national unity through culture. Its original holdings were built in part through the transfer to the Collegio Romano of more than seventy monastic collections, comprising approximately 300,000 volumes assembled around the Jesuits’ Bibliotheca Major.

A century and a half after its foundation, the National Central Library of Rome remains a leading institution in the preservation and promotion of Italy’s bibliographical and documentary heritage, supporting research and safeguarding cultural memory for future generations.

Cover image: Cartografia Varia, Custodia per carte nautiche (Miscellaneous Cartography, Case for Nautical Charts), 1601–1700.

The programme is subject to change.