Biblioteca Comunale Isidoro Chirulli

The Isidoro Chirulli Municipal Library is housed in Martina Franca's Ducal Palace. Its archives preserve records of the Caracciolo family, the papers of statesman Giuseppe Grassi and the municipal historical archive.

Why it matters

Founded as the municipal library in 1928, the institution was re-established in 1947 and later named for archpriest and historian Isidoro Chirulli. Its collections preserve civic and regional history, including documents associated with the Caracciolo family and Giuseppe Grassi, a Martina Franca-born signatory of the Italian Constitution.

What to notice

The library occupies two floors of the Ducal Palace's western range. It shares the historic building with the frescoed gallery associated with Duke Francesco III and the Paolo Grassi music centre. The archival collections connect the library's present role with the palace's history as a civic and cultural centre.

Context and history

The library began in 1928 as the Civica and was re-established after the Second World War by a 1947 municipal resolution. It was named for Isidoro Chirulli, the nineteenth-century archpriest who wrote about the town's history and helped rebuild the Basilica of San Martino. The library returned to the Ducal Palace after its post-war refoundation. Accessibility works funded through the national recovery programme preceded its reopening in June 2024.