Biblioteca Reale

Inside the Palazzo Reale, the Royal Library preserves more than 200,000 volumes and a celebrated group of Leonardo da Vinci drawings, including the Codex on the Flight of Birds. Carlo Alberto created it for his court; it is now a state library and museum.

Why it matters

Few libraries of any country hold thirteen autograph sheets by Leonardo da Vinci. The Biblioteca Reale does, acquired in 1839 with the purchase of the Roman collection of Giovanni Volpato, and later joined by the Codex on the Flight of Birds, Leonardo's compact study of aerodynamics written around his Florentine years. The library owes its existence to Carlo Alberto's decision in 1831 to build a serious royal collection of books, manuscripts and prints, and it became a state institution after the House of Savoy's assets passed to Italy following the Second World War. Beyond Leonardo it preserves illuminated manuscripts, antique maps, engravings and volumes that trace the intellectual life of the Savoy court, from courtly correspondence to scientific treatises collected by princes.

What to notice

The monumental hall occupies the ground floor of the palace's east wing and was fitted out between 1839 and its 1842 opening to designs by court architect Pelagio Palagi. Palagi conceived the room as a total work, with two levels of shelving and carved furnishings in a unified architectural design. The working Reading Room next door reflects the institution's role as a research library as well as a museum.

Context and history

The library grew with the Piedmontese state. Volpato's 1839 purchase supplied the core of old-master drawings by Italian and foreign artists, and successive additions kept enlarging a collection meant to rival the libraries of other European courts. Palagi's new wing opened in 1842 with monumental furnishings designed for the hall. After 1946 the library entered the state heritage system and belongs to the Musei Reali complex with the Royal Palace, the Armeria Reale, the Galleria Sabauda, the Museum of Antiquities and the Royal Gardens. Its Leonardo holdings include the Codex on the Flight of Birds and drawings preserved under climate control.