Overview of the collections
Focusing on the political, social and economic development of modern Europe, with a spotlight on the evolution of the international labor movement, socialism and social democracy, the Foundation's library and archival holdings include materials across the spectrum of the social sciences and the humanities. They are classified within Country Collections, subdivided into chronological and thematic sections, and related Special Collections that focus on watershed historical periods and episodes (click here to view catalogues).
While the Country Collections for Europe are the strongest, there are also considerable sections on dozens of countries in Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Noteworthy among the Special Collections - to mention just some - are the holdings on the Italian Risorgimento, Marxism, the Revolutions of 1848, nineteenth-century British popular radicalism, the Paris Commune of 1871, pre-Revolutionary and revolutionary Russia, the Spanish Civil War, Allende's Chile, the Prague Spring, Poland's Solidarity movement and recent pro-democracy struggles in China.
The Foundation also possesses some 4,500 rare books relating broadly to social and political philosophy and political economy, with particularly strong sections on early Utopian literature, French Encyclopedism and the Enlightenment, and the French Revolution. The oldest book in the collection, Pietro Borghi's Libro de Abacho, dates back to 1509.
All of the Collections feature a wealth of unique primary source materials that present exceptional opportunities for researchers to get closer to the day-by-day events of defining moments in modern social history.
The Library of the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation has been a member of Italy's National Library Service (Sistema Bibliotecario Nazionale, or SBN) since 1989.
Quick facts
Historical periodicals: 17,500
Current periodicals: 317
Monographs: 200,000
Microforms: 2,500
Library hours
Tuesday through Thursday, 10:30 am - 5:30 pm
Friday 9 am - 1 pm
N.B. The library and archives are closed on Mondays.
For information on accessing Library facilities, please see request form and regulations here at right or contact biblioteca@fondazionefeltrinelli.it.
