Libraries and archives Emilia Romagna

Inside Palazzo Sanguinetti are hosted the collections of Padre Martini, personality of the eighteenth century musical culture. A journey of six centuries in the history of European music, in which Bologna has often played a central role.

Back in 1691, Count Michelangelo Maffei had an imposing building built, with a square shape, 22 meters high, called “Torre San Michele”. The building takes its name from the marble effigy dedicated to the Saint. Inside, the Tower was able to accommodate up to 300 soldiers. At the top of the structure, the banner of St. Michael the Archangel was waving. In 1862, after being also used as a Barracks, the Tower was abandoned; later, it was restored and transformed into the Municipal Library of Cervia.

Included in the "Memory of the World of Unesco", is one of the best preserved in Italy humanities libraries, able to attract scholars and visitors from around the world. Its construction was completed in 1454, era in which date back many of the original features that still remain today, from the magnificent portal of access to and from the banks of reading that adorn the aisles of '"Aula del Nuti", named after the architect who built it.

Opened in 1619, at the bequest of Alexander Gambalunga it is the first public library of the peninsula. Suggestive are the two magnificent globes wanted by the first librarian Michele Moretti with the heavenly terraqueous dated 1622.

The Estense Library was established around the 14th century, by the lords of Ferrara and preserves a great heritage of volumes, illuminated codes and musical manuscripts of considerable value. Among them the Bible of Borso D'Este, which comes from the refinement of the school of Ferrara and its art of miniature. There are also documents related to geographical maps, such as the Catalan Charter of the 15th century.