A Day at the Central National Library of Rome

School trips can be unexpectedly good

For my new blog post this month, I decided to write about something different from my previous posts. I recently had the opportunity to visit the National Library of Rome with my teachers and schoolmates, and I must confess that for a book lover like me, it was a truly extraordinary and unforgettable experience. Sharing this experience with you is a real pleasure for me, and I hope you like this article even if it's a little different than usual! But before we start…

What is a National Library?

For those who follow me and aren't familiar with the concept, don't worry! I admit that before my visit to the National Library of Rome, I didn't have a clear understanding of what it was either. However, after taking a leap and exploring its depths, I am happy to be able to share this valuable knowledge with you. A national library is an institution of extreme importance, established and financed by the government of a state. Its main mission is to preserve, catalog, and make accessible to the public a wide range of bibliographic and documentary material. Within these libraries, it is customary to find literary works, historical documents, periodicals, and other cultural treasures that are considered of crucial relevance to the nation. In Italy, we can boast several national libraries distributed in various cities such as Turin, Venice, Milan, and Naples. However, among these, two institutions of particular prestige emerge: the National Library of Rome and the National Library of Florence, which among other things are defined as central. But now let's get back to us…

My Experience of a Morning

I have to admit that this is the first time I've attempted to describe my day in an article, but there's always a first time, right? XD We left Subiaco at 8.30, but with all the traffic there, we only arrived around 10.30. The visit started at 11 am, but it was definitely worth it. 

 

Our guide was really nice and immediately introduced us to the world of national libraries, focusing on the one we were in, revealing an astonishing fact: 7 million volumes are preserved in it! He explained to us that some rooms are unfortunately closed to the public, such as the manuscript room, but others are accessible and already full of books ready to take. For the more specific ones, there is a computer search system that allows us to sort them. But the most interesting part was when he showed us how book searches worked in the past: a room full of drawers, each containing thousands of notes with book information. They had to search among those thousand notes! After this time travel, we moved on to the "bookshop for the blind," and it was explained to us that the name should change to "bookshop for the visually impaired" for a matter of political correctness. And then, the room dedicated to Italo Calvino, which preserves not only his archival and bibliographic collection but also the furnishings, objects, and paintings present in his house in Campo Marzio 5, where he spent the last years of his life. This room even recreates his writing workshop, with the green terrace table on which he began writing Palomar in the foreground.  

Ah, let me tell you about my favourite part: the unforgettable experience in the Spazi900 Gallery. This gallery, a true jewel of the library, is dedicated to temporary exhibitions on contemporary literature. Inside there is "900 in 8 times," an exciting journey through poets and writers who profoundly marked the 20th century. Imagine, entering this exhibition was like immersing yourself in a magical world, where every step reveals a new literary treasure.  

We begin our journey in Elsa Morante' s Room, a place steeped in history and creativity that captured me from the first moment. There, I found myself surrounded by the original furnishings that once adorned the great writer's study. 

Observing the desk on which Elsa Morante left the signs of her genius, together with her typewriter that gave life to the masterpiece Aracoeli, was a truly emotional moment for me. But what made this experience even more extraordinary were Elsa Morante's looks, immortalized in the portraits that adorn the room. These portraits added a touch of authenticity and inspiration to our encounter with his work. The opportunity to explore his manuscripts, made accessible through digital formats, has been a true privilege. In that moment, I felt Elsa Morante's creativity vibrate, and I felt closer than ever to her literary genius. It was an experience that awakened my spirit as a reader and fueled the desire to discover even more about this great author and her iconic works.

  
Continuing our journey, we explored the area dedicated to  20th century d'Annunzio, which opened the exhibition with a fascinating fusion of poetry and theatre, through iconic works such as Alcyone and Iorio's Daughter. 

Next, we entered Pirandello's world, discovering the secrets of his creative process through his Secret Notebook.  

The journey took us through the eras and experiments of poets such as Ungaretti and Montale, up to the bold innovations of the Novissimi and the versatility of Pasolini, demonstrated by his typescripts and precious archives. 

 

But the culminating point of the experience was the discovery of Calvino's inventive charge, which made writing a magical art. And I cannot forget the audiovisual area, which allowed us to further immerse ourselves in the lives and works of twentieth-century authors. In short, Spazi900 was much more than a simple exhibition. It was an exciting journey through the lives and works of some of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, a unique opportunity to get closer to their brilliance and their lasting impact on world literature. 

 

To conclude, I have to say that I really treasured this experience, which was incredibly rewarding for me. Since the morning, I had been eager to see what the visit would have in store for me, but I never imagined that the reality would so far exceed my expectations. If you ever find yourself in the vicinity, I highly recommend making a stop at the National Library and taking the time to visit it. 

That said, with this article, we've deviated a bit from my usual writing routine.  Keep following me for the next chapter of adventures and discoveries!

 Today's Blogger

Hello there! I'm Sophia Corsini from the third year of liceo scientifico, and my distinct feature is my red hair. I find joy in playing the piano, a skill I've honed over the years. When I'm not immersed in the world of music, you can often find me flipping through manga pages, engrossed in captivating stories.