Biblioteca Lucchesiana, Conservation library in Agrigento, Italy

The Biblioteca Lucchesiana is a conservation library housed in a historic building in central Agrigento. Its collection spans tens of thousands of volumes, including very old printed books and handwritten manuscripts from different centuries.

Bishop Andrea Lucchesi Palli, of the princely Lucchese Palli family, founded the library in 1765 next to the renovated episcopal palace on via Duomo, endowing it with about 20,000 volumes and antiquities and leaving it to the people of Agrigento. After his death in 1768 the scientific holdings passed to its administrators and the finances to his heirs. Managed by the Comune from 1862 to 1899, it lost Greek, Arabic and Latin manuscripts; termites collapsed the main hall roof in 1963, and the 1966 landslide and 1968 Belice earthquake halted restoration. Work resumed in 1978 and the library reopened in 1990.

The library is named after its founder and represents Sicily's commitment to preserving knowledge and scholarship. Walking through its rooms, you can see how books from different periods and subjects sit side by side.

The library is at Via Duomo 94, between the church of Sant'Alfonso Maria de' Liguori and the diocesan museum inside the bishop's palace. It occupies three floors: the ground floor has the entrance and a large hall used for conferences and temporary displays, while the first floor holds two reading rooms with restored wooden shelving and a statue of Bishop Lucchesi Palli.

Each book receives specialized care treatment to protect it from wear and the passage of time. This intensive care makes the collection one of the best-preserved holdings in southern Italy.