The Biblioteca Zambeccari is a former library, attached to the
Jesuit
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
monastery and colleges near the church of
Santa Lucia in
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. Now with two stories of shelves bereft of books, the
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
frescoed room, located in the Liceo Galvani, is sometimes used for meetings and public events.
History
Also known as the ''Libreria di Santa Lucia'', the idea of a library for the burgeoning collection of books in the collections of the Jesuit institutions came to fruit in 1742 with the patronage of the Zambeccari-Sbaraglia family, which supported the construction of the site, and further acquisitions and maintenance. They employed the architect Giuseppe Antonio Ambrosi to design the space, which did not originally provide access to the street, despite aims of creating somewhat of a public library. Later access to the entrance stairs of the library was made from the portico on via Castiglione. The library room fills two floors and once held over 15,000 books. The second-floor balcony with a balustrade was accessed by a helical stair.
The fresco decoration (completed in December 1744) was a collaboration of
Nicola Bertuzzi and
Giuseppe Marchesi
Giuseppe Marchesi (1699–1771) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Bologna. He was also known as ''il Sansone'' for his herculean build. Biography
Giuseppe Marchesi first trained under the Bolognese painter Aureliano ...
(figure painters);
Pietro Scandellari
Pietro Scandellari (1711–1789) was an Italian painter and scenic designer.
He was born in Bologna, and trained under Francesco Galli Bibiena, mainly as a decorative painter for churches. His brothers Giuseppe and Giulio were also painters. ...
(
quadratura
Illusionistic ceiling painting, which includes the techniques of perspective di sotto in sù and quadratura, is the tradition in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art in which ''trompe-l'œil'', perspective tools such as foreshortening, and other ...
); and Antonio Calegari (stucco decoration). The library was opened in 1752, but the Jesuit order itself was suppressed in 1773, and the property was ceded to the
Barnabite order. With the Napoleonic occupation, many of the most precious manuscripts and codices were moved to other collections. Finally in 1869, after the closure of numerous religious institutions by the Italian government, the collections of this library and the Santa Lucia complex were added to the patrimony of the
Archiginnasio Library. The Fascists moved the collections to via Manzoni, near the Casa del Fascio. The library room was used by a Music School for Violins, as a concert hall. In 1935, it became property of the Liceo “Galvani”.
The entrance staircase was frescoed by Bertuzzi with putti holding up various biblical quotes, upholding the Jesuit vision of knowledge infused by a Catholic spirit. For example, one, banner reads “in omni animo tuo accede ad illam” (Ecclesiasticus 6: 27). In the anteroom of the library is an allegory of knowledge with a cornucopia in his left arm. In the ceiling of the library is a fresco depicting Solomon.
Photos of the site
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biblioteca Zambeccari
Zambeccari
Baroque architecture in Bologna
18th-century architecture in Italy