Provincial Library

The Provincial Library of Salerno was founded in 1844 and boasts a rich collection of ancient books, amounting to around three hundred thousand volumes. The Provincial Library of Salerno is an ancient cultural institution with a remarkable history and a valuable book heritage. It originated in 1843, in the then Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and was housed in the former Benedictine monastery of La Maddalena, which also accommodated the Royal “Tasso” Lyceum, an institution founded by Murat to compensate for the closure of the Medical School. The library’s early years were closely linked to the Lyceum, and one of its professors, Francesco Cerenza, served as its first director, donating his own precious private library.

The library’s holdings grew considerably after the Unification of Italy, when ecclesiastical assets were expropriated, including books and manuscripts from the convent of the Holy Trinity in Baronissi, the convent of San Nicola della Palma, the Capuchin convent in Salerno, and many other religious houses in the province. The Lyceum’s premises were eventually abandoned due to neglect and the library was moved to Palazzo Pinto, where it remained for many years, until the bombings of the Second World War. From this earlier period, the figure of director Andrea Sinno stands out as a lively cultural animator and founder of the first nucleus of the Provincial Art Gallery.

War damage led to the degradation of the building, which was abandoned and replaced by temporary and inadequate premises in Palazzo Migliaccio‑Grassi, pending a definitive location. A new site was identified in a purpose‑built building in Via Valerio Laspro and, after long and troubled construction work, it was inaugurated in 1977, although the library did not fully open to the public until 1992.

Today, the book collection amounts to around three hundred thousand volumes, including an important historical fund consisting of seventy‑eight incunabula, 1,666 sixteenth‑century editions, as well as valuable manuscripts and archival documents.