Overview
The Library is angelic in name, because Angelo (Rocca) was the name of the founder, a learned Augustinian bishop, but it could also be described as angelic in nature. The Angelica Library in Rome, housed in the former convent annexed to the basilica of Sant'Agostino in Campo Marzio, is a magical place for lovers of manuscripts and ancient codices and for all scholars interested in Augustinian thought or the relationship between the Church and the Protestant Reformation, the two themes that most characterise its collections. It is also a landmark in the history of library science: Angelo Rocca wanted it to be open to all, without limits of status or census, as early as 1604. This date makes it perhaps the first "public" library in Europe, or at least one of the first three, together with the Ambrosiana in Milan and the Bodleian in Oxford. The collection includes more than 2,500 manuscripts, 1,100 incunabula, 10,000 engravings and maps, and 100,000 volumes published from the 15th to the 19th century, as well as many modern books, but it is also extraordinary for another reason.
A special dispensation, even during the time of the Inquisition, allowed this institution to keep forbidden books and books by non-Catholic authors. These were increased in the 18th century by the abundant collection of Cardinal Domenico Passionei, a bibliophile and papal diplomat who had lived in reformed countries. In order to accommodate all its books, the library was enlarged by the great architect Luigi Vanvitelli, who designed the monumental hall on the first floor, completed in 1765. Since 1940, the same complex has also housed the glorious Literary Academy of Arcadia. It is accessible for consultation (and for a quick browse, courtesy of the custodians).
