Recorded History
Treasure chest of a unique cultural heritage, the "Vittorio Emanuele III" National Library in Naples is one of the main identity-making centres in Campania and the whole of Italy.
The Library's History
The "Vittorio Emanuele III" National Library in Naples was founded in the last few decades of the XVIII century, when - with the introduction of a royal decree - the library collections which had been housed up to that point at the Capodimonte Palace started to appear in the Palazzo degli Studi, current-day home to the Archaeological Museum. One of the most important examples of the collections gathered at that time is the famous Farnese book collection that Carlo di Borbone, son and heir to Elisabetta Farnese, had brought to Naples in 1734.
The move to the new location began in 1784, and only after a number of years of arranging and cataloguing the vast book collection, was it possible to officially open it to the public on 13 January 1804, under the reign of Ferdinando IV di Borbone. After The Unity of Italy, the Library continued to acquire books using various funds, donations and bequeathals, such that the Palazzo degli Studi was no longer adequate. After a lengthy debate about the choice of new location, in 1922, thanks to interest shown byBenedetto Croce, the transfer to the Royal Palace in piazza del Plebiscito was approved.
During those years, the Library's collection continued to grow thanks to various annexations, until the integrity of the structures and collections came under threat during the Second World War. Many of the most valuable manuscripts and books were transferred underground until 1945, when the Library was re-opened to the public. Further enriched with valuable private collections, as well as a series of purchases aimed at research and promotion of southern Italian culture in its many facets, the Library was severely damaged during the earthquake on 23 November 1980, when it became necessary to clear out the entire wing towards the sea that was seriously damaged, and transfer the books and relative sections to other parts of the building.
In 1990, the Library joined the National Library Services of Italy (SBN), a project aimed at creating an automated library network, to exchange library information and for the flow of documents. The Data Processing Centre is installed there and numerous libraries in southern Italy are already connected to it. The cultural activities held at the Library as well as conferences and exhibitions, aim to highlight both the extensive funds available as well as the productive collaborative relations with different cultural institutes in the city.
Heritage
After the central national libraries in Rome and Florence, the National Library in Naples is the most important library in Italy with a patrimony of around 19,000 manuscripts, 4,563 incunabulum, 1,792 Herculaneum papyrus, approx. 1,800,000 volumes and prints as well as 8,300 newspapers. The National Library occupies the eastern wing of the Royal Palace and can be accessed from the nineteenth century garden, through a Late-Neoclassic style entrance, like the Library's Marble Staircase. Internally, in the various rooms, the decorative paintings, plasterwork, high-reliefs, low-reliefs, furniture and other furnishings, represent an extensive context of the Library's cultural life, that in turn perfectly illustrates the evolution of the Neapolitan decorative art between the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries.
