Mozzi Borgetti Town Library, Public library in Macerata, Italy.
The Mozzi Borgetti Town Library occupies a former Jesuit college building and holds over 350,000 volumes and manuscripts across its painted galleries and rooms. The structure serves as both a study space and a cultural meeting point for the community.
The library opened in 1773 in the former Jesuit college after Pope Clement XIV suppressed the order, starting from the Jesuits' 5,000 volumes. A brief of 15 December 1773 granted the building to Macerata, and Pope Pius VI funded the public library, inaugurated on 31 March 1787. In 1810 the council sought the Barnabite convent, and a 1814 decree by Joachim Murat confirmed the city's ownership of San Giovanni.
The library's name joins the Mozzi brothers, Bartolomeo and Giuseppe, with the Dominican Tommaso Borgetti, whose 1833 bequest formed a separate Borgettiana collection until it merged with the Mozziana in 1855. The Sala degli Specchi, or Gallery of Mirrors, was painted with grotteschi in the 18th century by Vincenzo Martini, Domenico Marzapani and Domenico Cervini.
The library occupies the former Jesuit college on Piazza Vittorio Veneto 2, near the church of San Giovanni. The historic rooms, including the Sala degli Specchi, are on the upper floor, reached by stairs. The reading rooms serve scholars and the public; check current access conditions before planning a visit.
The library's collection includes approximately 10,000 manuscripts and rare printed books spanning several centuries, including early printed editions. These holdings make it an important destination for researchers studying the history of the book.
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