Ambrosian Library

The Ambrosian Library is a library in Milan established by Cardinal and Archbishop Federico Borromeo. Named after the father of the church of St. Ambrose of Milan, bishop and patron of Milan. The oldest public library in Italy.

The library was opened to the public on 8 December 1609 (after the Bodleian Library opened in Oxford in 1602, it is the second public library in Europe). The oldest manuscripts were transported to Milan from the provincial monastery of St. Columban. A printing house was opened at the library, and there was also a school of classical languages. In addition, the library includes the Academy and Pinacoteca, established by the same Federico Borromeo.

The library contains 12 manuscripts by Leonardo da Vinci, 12 thousand drawings by European artists of the XIV-XIX centuries, an illuminated edition of the Iliad (Ilia Picta, V century), Virgil with illustrations by Simone Martini and Petrarch’s marginalia, many other cultural values.