Visconti Sforza Library, Public and private library in Pavia, Italy

The Visconti Sforza Library was the private book collection of the Visconti and Sforza lords and dukes of Milan, kept in the castle of Pavia. Around 1378 it was already substantial enough to be visited by Geoffrey Chaucer on a diplomatic mission. Under Filippo Maria Visconti it reached about 1,000 volumes, and in 1500 Louis XII had some 400 codices taken to the castle of Blois.

The library was founded when the Visconti family used Pavia as their power base and gathered knowledge for their court. Later, the Sforza family, their successors, continued this work and expanded the collections further.

The library's name comes from the two Milanese dynasties that built it. Its manuscripts carry the ex libris "de Pavye au roy Loys XIIe", added after Louis XII took about 400 codices to the château de Blois in 1500. A Petrarch Virgil is now at Milan's Ambrosiana, while a 15th-century copy of Petrarch's Trionfi stays in Pavia's university library.

Researchers and students can access the historical documents, but they need to schedule an appointment with the library administration beforehand. Planning ahead is necessary since not all areas are open at all times.

Of the roughly 400 manuscripts Louis XII took to Blois in 1500, those now in the Bibliothèque nationale de France still carry the ex libris "de Pavye au roy Loys XIIe". About 500 codices once held at Pavia have been traced since the 19th century, including a Petrarch Virgil at Milan's Ambrosiana.