Biblioteca Laudense

The Biblioteca Laudense occupies Palazzo di San Filippo in Lodi, the former home of the Oratorian fathers. Its historic collection and decorated Sala dei Filippini unite the history of books with an important baroque architectural setting.

Why it matters

The library developed from the Oratorians' collections into a civic institution. Its history reflects the movement of books from religious communities into public ownership during the political changes of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

What to notice

The great vaulted hall contains Federico Ferrari's fresco of Saint Philip contemplating the Cross. Monumental walnut bookcases, completed in 1765, frame the collection. Their carving is associated with Cavanna and the Oppizio workshop. Manuscripts, early printed books and later volumes preserve different stages in the history of scholarship and book production.

Context and history

The hall was completed in 1758 and frescoed in 1764. The library opened to the public in 1792. French occupation interrupted its activity in 1796; the municipality reopened it in 1798. The former Oratorian library became city property in 1802, and books from other suppressed religious houses enlarged its holdings.