Accademia Etrusca and Council Library

Over the following years a number of internationally renowned intellectuals became members of the Accademia, including Charles Montesquieu, Voltaire, Johann J. Winckelmann, Antonio Muratori, Scipione Maffei. With the founding of the museum and the publication of a number of works of considerable historical interest, the Accademia extended its activities to a number of sectors, even running a periodical named Polimnia. Currently the Accademia publishes an Annuario.

The council library, meanwhile, had also developed considerably, both thanks to private donations and to acquisitions of Church manuscripts following the laws imposed by Napoleon. Some of these manuscripts are of inestimable value, such as the Laudario Cortonese (13th century), or the early 14th century manuscript of Dante’s Divine Comedy. Currently, the Bibioteca’s collection is as follows:

Most of the material in the Biblioteca is catalogue and accessible on CDS/ISIS.

The library’s opening hours are every day except Saturdays from 9am to 12 noon and from 3 to 6.45pm. The library remains closed from August 1st to 15th.

The manuscripts of the Biblioteca are accessible entirely on microfilm and available to the public. There are restrictions on consulting the original manuscripts, however, and permission must be obtained beforehand. Rare or particularly valuable material also has consultation restrictions. No restrictions are imposed on the library’s contemporary material, however, and the public is free to borrow this material or arrange for an inter-library loan. The Biblioteca is able to provide a microfilming service on request.