Biblioteche Riunite "Baldassarre Labanca"

The United Libraries “Baldassarre Labanca” in Agnone combine the municipal library, the Labanca collection and the historic municipal archive. Housed in the former Franciscan convent of San Francesco, the institution holds books, manuscripts and documents connected with the town's history.

Why it matters

The library began with a bequest from philosopher and historian Baldassarre Labanca, who intended his books to support the education of young people in Agnone. The collection has grown through donations and acquisitions, while the municipal archive preserves documents that trace the civic history of the town.

What to notice

The Mostra del Libro Antico presents historic editions from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, including works by Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Ovid and Livy. The archive preserves notarial records and documents relating to emigration and the area's history. Painted wooden ceilings in the former convent rooms retain symbolic decoration associated with Franciscan alchemical imagery.

Context and history

Labanca's library opened in 1910 with a collection of about eight thousand volumes and became a legal entity in 1911. After a period of neglect, local scholars and volunteers helped revive the institution from 1971. The municipal archive includes records dating from the thirteenth to nineteenth centuries and is housed alongside the library in the former convent complex.