- Margaret. The Library of Queen Margaret of Savoy.
Permanent exhibition of the library of Queen Margaret of Savoy (1851-1926).
In the collective imagination Margaret of Savoy embodied, more than any other, an exemplary model of sovereignty, in which the awareness and pride of belonging to one of the oldest royal houses in Europe were combined with closeness to the people, interest in the needs of the most needy and a lively passion for culture. In this regard, the conspicuous book collection collected by the sovereign over a lifetime bears witness to the fascination that the intellectual world exerted on her, as well as to the eclectic taste of a curious woman, a lover of Italian and European literature, figurative arts, poetry, music and the most innovative aspects of the society of her time.
During 2022, the entire book collection – consisting of 13,560 volumes – was the subject of an ambitious new project, promoted by the National Library in collaboration with Culturalpe s.c, aimed at the preservation, enhancement and free enjoyment of the collection through the inventory revision and computer cataloging of all the works included in it, with a view to their transfer from storage to the Library’s Exhibition Hall, in accordance with a permanent arrangement designed to promote the widest and most transversal knowledge possible. Through unprecedented narrative lines and the aid of multimedia apparatus, visitors are invited to walk among the beautiful shelves of the fund, in which the books respect the catalographic order desired by the sovereign and, thanks to the creation of special display libraries, they can see several dozen volumes on display, thus discovering the literary tastes and cultural relations that Queen Margaret knew how to cultivate throughout her life. - The library within the library: the culture of giving
At the height of the pandemic, the National University Library of Turin decides to enhance the value of the books kept in its storerooms in 1046 perforated boxes. Some 17,000 volumes and 11,000 pamphlets are thus rediscovered, most of them ancient and of definite cultural interest: 556 linear meters of books from all over the world. The main vein in this deposit is the gifts that came after the great fire of 1904, thus the project The Culture of Giving was born. The virtual exhibition was made possible thanks to a grant from the Directorate General for Libraries and with technical support from ICCU as part of a three-year grant earmarked for the promotion of Italian language and culture abroad.
Virtual Exhibitions
Through the Movio platform of the ICCU Institute, the National Library has curated two virtual exhibitions showcasing two significant collections held within its premises.