Estense Library of Modena

The institute, which has its roots in the collecting activities of the Este lords, has existed since the 14th century. Its rich heritage, expanded, organized, and studied by librarians such as Ludovico Antonio Muratori and Girolamo Tiraboschi, has further increased over the centuries through donations, inheritances, suppression of religious entities, and acquisitions of all kinds. In this way, alongside the most precious legacy made up of illuminated manuscripts, incunabula, sixteenth-century books, and rare nautical charts of the Este family, especially after the transfer to the Italian State (1861) and the move to the current location (1882), manuscript and printed collections as well as archives of writers, scientists, publishers, and librarians have been added over time.

The Estense University Library has the mission to collect, increase, and safeguard its historical collections and to expand its book holdings by acquiring current works, including in non-paper formats. Since September 2006, as the holder of the legal deposit for Modena and its province, it acquires the book production published in the territory, thus increasing the already rich local history section formed on the basis of the previous mandatory deposit law.