The historical library of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia reopens to the public

The historic library of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia reopens to the public from March 14, 2025, by reservation only, in a completely renovated environment. The library holds a bibliographic holdings of more than 20,000 volumes, including monographs, periodicals and abstracts, including bibliographic rarities. The collection, which began in 1891, has expanded over time thanks to the work of the Superintendency for Southern Etruria and thanks to major donations from the libraries of inspectors Raniero Mengarelli and Maria Santangelo and Superintendent Mario Moretti.

Originally established as an institute library with the aim of providing scientific support and study materials to archaeologists engaged in heritage protection, the library has over the years become a point of reference also for outside scholars and researchers because of its specialization in the archaeology and art history of the Etruscan-Italic world.
The historical library reopens after a thorough work of arrangement, inventorying and cataloging of volumes, coordinated by archaeological officer Antonietta Simonelli with the intention of making it a laboratory for new ideas and research.

“We are really proud to have returned to the world of research an extraordinary library heritage that as of today is once again accessible after a decade of being closed to the public,” says Villa Giulia National Etruscan Museum director Luana Toniolo. “This is one of the most well-stocked libraries on the world of Etruscan-Italic archaeology and art, and we hope it will be an important reference point for scholars, researchers and enthusiasts, opening new horizons for scientific research.”

Among the first texts in the inventories is the large-format volume by Giovanni Pinza, professor of paleoethnology at the Royal University of Rome, dating from 1913 and purchased at the time for 50,000 liras. Among the most important collections, the library houses the Massimo Pallottino fund, recognized as being of significant historical interest in 1995 and an integral part of the Guglielmo Marconi library of the CNR. It is the fruit of the constant research activity carried out over seventy years by one of the greatest exponents of twentieth-century Italian archaeology. His library organically collects the scientific production in the field of Etruscological studies organized into 6,000 monographs, 610 Italian and foreign periodicals and more than 8,000 abstracts, the result of his correspondence work with scholars from all over the world.

The Library can be consulted by reservation every Tuesday and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the support of Museum staff for research and consultation.

For info and reservations write to mn-etru.biblioteca@cultura.gov.it.

The historical library of the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia reopens to the public

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