Biblioteca Gambalunga

The oldest public library in Italy is housed in the Palazzo Gambalunga off Corso d'Augusto, and the eighteenth-century reading room is open to anyone who walks in. The collection runs to more than 200,000 volumes including illuminated manuscripts, sixteenth-century printed editions, and the city's main collection of Fellini's personal papers.

Free admission. Open Monday to Friday and Saturday morning. The atmosphere of the main hall — gilded wood, painted ceiling, library ladders — is reason enough for a quick visit.

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A story
Founded in 1619 under the will of the jurist Alessandro Gambalunga, who left his books, his palazzo, and an endowment to keep the doors open free of charge. It is generally considered the oldest civic library in Italy, predating the founding of the British Museum library by more than a century.

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