Biblioteca Angelica
Oldest public library in Europe
About
The Biblioteca Angelica (English: Angelica Library) is a public library located in Rome, Italy. In front of the Piazza Sant'Agostino square, adjacent to the church of Sant'Agostino, not far from Piazza Navona. Having been open to the public since 1609, it is considered the oldest public library in Europe along with the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan and the Bodleian in Oxford.
The library holds about over 200,000 volumes, about half of which makes up the 'fondo antico' (15th–18th century editions). Manuscripts number about 2,700, mostly Latin but also Greek and Oriental (among them Codex Angelicus), incunabula 1,100, 16th century editions about 20,000. These works are important for our knowledge of the history of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation.
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