In the vast space of Prato della Valle, right in the center of Padua yet immersed in greenery and silence, stands an Abbey rich in history, founded near the Basilica erected in the 5th century on the tomb of Saint Giustina, a virgin and the first martyr of Padua. From this important center of monastic life arose in the 15th century the reform that gave birth to the “Congregation of Santa Giustina”, which became “Cassinese” from 1505. The Monastery, equipped with five cloisters, was suppressed by Emperor Napoleon in 1810 and transformed into a barracks; reopened in 1919, since the end of the Second World War it has increasingly qualified itself through cultural activities, including the Institute of Pastoral Liturgy affiliated with the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome, the restoration laboratory for Ancient Books, and the Library. The latter has existed since the first settlement of the monks (10th century), following the traditional love for culture inspired by Saint Benedict. In the 15th century, it was enriched with numerous choir books, exquisitely illuminated: in 1493 there were as many as 1,337, kept in the Ancient Library, the current “Saint Luke Room”. As ties with the University of Padua grew stronger, the collection expanded so much that a new location became necessary; thus a large hall (30x10m) was built, furnished with shelves designed by the Flemish architect Michele Bartems (circa 1640-1716). At the time of the Napoleonic suppression (1810), the collection was rich with 80,000 volumes, which were dispersed to various locations. Its holdings benefited the Braidense Library of Milan, the Marciana Library of Venice, the Civic Museum and the University Library of Padua; other volumes passed into antiquarian hands and are scattered around the world: from Paris to London, from New York to Los Angeles, from Cape Town to Berlin and Budapest. After the Abbey was revived in 1919, the new monks gradually increased the collection to reach today’s 140,000 volumes: it specializes in religious sciences (Bible, patristics, theology, liturgy) and history (monastic, ecclesiastical, and local), but its holdings also include other disciplines such as philosophy, Italian and classical literature, and art history. It also holds 1,300 periodicals, 500 of which are current.
Reborn in 1943 as a library exclusively serving the Benedictine monastic community of Santa Giustina, it has since acquired its current profile as a public state library, open for consultation to every Italian citizen (and by extension, to every European Union citizen).
Information about the State Library of the National Monument of Santa Giustina
via G. Ferrari , 2/A
Padua (Padua)
049 8751948
bmn-sng@beniculturali.it
https://www.bibliotecasantagiustina.it/home.html
Mon. and Tue.: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM; 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Wed. – Fri.: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM Sat.: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Source: MIBACT
