Cloudburst in Palermo, extensive damage to books at Central Library of Sicily

The cloudburst that hit Palermo last July 15 caused extensive damage to the library holdings of the Central Library of Sicily, also affecting several ancient books: the amount of damage is apparently yet to be quantified since it has not yet been disclosed. Denouncing what happened is the union Funzione Pubblica CGIL with its Palermo and Sicily sections, which also point out that library employees worked hard to save the books.

This is one of the most important libraries in southern Italy: founded on November 15, 1782, with its headquarters in the Collegio Massimo in the Jesuits as the Royal Library, it became a state library in 1860 after the annexation of Sicily to the Kingdom of Italy, and remained national until 1977, when the state transferred its management to the Sicilian Region. In 2004 the complex was named after Alberto Bombace, the Region’s historic director of cultural heritage. It preserves a substantial collection of manuscripts, printed works from all periods (starting from the 15th century), one of the largest collections of periodicals in the south.

At the moment, the library is closed, as of last April 17, and will remain so, the management says, until all the volumes are secured.

“A real carnage, what has been recorded in the library’s book tower,” say Giovanni Cammuca, secretary general of Fp CGIL Palermo and Gaetano Agliozzo, secretary general of Fp CGIL Sicilia, “a disaster that has swept away hundreds of books, many of them of inestimable value. We hope that they were not irreversibly damaged and can still be saved.”

“The water bomb in Palermo,” adds Leandro Janni, president of Italia Nostra Sicilia, “also resulted in damage to the historical and cultural heritage. A truly unacceptable damage. Certainly the deafening and unbelievable silence of the president of the Sicilian Region Musumeci and the councillor of Cultural Heritage Samonà, more than a week after the cloudburst, impose a stance to draw public attention to the further damage to a precious collective good that, inaction, could determine.”

Cloudburst in Palermo, extensive damage to books at Central Library of Sicily

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