"Francesca Calvo" civic library - Historic rooms

From 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026

The Alessandria Public Library was officially established in 1731 by order of Bishop Giuseppe De Rossi. In 1801, the Library was declared departmental and authorized to annex all the libraries of the convents in the Marengo department. It opened to the public in 1806 in the former Barnabite College. Relocated a few years later to the former Margarita Monastery, the Civic Library found its permanent home in 1858 in the current building, built specifically for the purpose. Between 2001 and 2007, the Library was closed to the public for major renovations.

The original core of the Library consists of the libraries of the local religious congregations, suppressed during the Napoleonic era. Subsequent acquisitions have been added.

The Historic Rooms—First and Second—are the only remaining of the six existing before the recent renovation, faithful to their original early twentieth-century layout. They contain volumes published mostly in the first half of the 19th century. The Historic Rooms also preserve part of the collection of the first Children's Library, commissioned by Zaira Vitale—the first woman to direct the municipal library from 1905 to 1920—and built thanks to the involvement of all citizens.

The new Civic Library, inaugurated by the illustrious Alexandrian Umberto Eco, is named after former mayor Francesca Calvo and was designed to combine its role of conservation with that of a public library, with rooms designed for young readers and a modern media library.

Text (excerpt) from the video dedicated to the Library of the Bibliotour Piemonte 2021 project, curated by the Civic Library (texts by Patrizia Bigi, Ilaria Ercole, Paola Ottone). For further information and insights, please refer to the links below.

The Civic Library also houses the Cabinet of Ancient and Modern Prints of the City of Alessandria: a project to collect and catalog donations and loans of graphic works (engravings, lithographs, woodcuts, silkscreens, and more) by artists from Alessandria and Piedmont. For more information, please see the dedicated page.

The Library is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays also from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The octagonal area, a crossroads leading to the reading rooms, hosts temporary exhibitions and displays.

piazza Vittorio Veneto 1 - 1512x Alessandria

Telephone: +39 0131 515917
E-mail: biblioteca.civica@comune.alessandria.it

All the updates on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-KX4JGLdP8
https://www.comune.alessandria.it/servizi/politiche-giovanili-scuola-educazione/biblioteca-civica