The Royal Portuguese Reading Room is an exemplar of Neo-Manueline architecture, a revival of the sumptuous Portuguese Late Gothic style. Aside from the richness of the interior, the building’s limestone façade depicts Portuguese explorers like Vasco da Gama. Admission is free and photos permitted.
Photograph by Massimo ListriBenediktinerabtei Metten Bibliothek, considered one of the most beautiful libraries in the world, is situated in Bavaria within a Benedictine abbey. Open for tours, the collection contains 150,000 volumes of theology, history, and philosophy.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThis 16th-century library is perhaps most famous for being methodically plundered by a crime ring in 2012. Approximately 80 percent of the stolen books have since been recovered, thanks to the help of antiquarian booksellers and collectors.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe first Spanish dictionary and rare texts predating the Spanish conquest are part of the 25,000-volume collection at this monastery library. Located in the historic center of Lima (a UNESCO World Heritage site), the library can be visited on a 30-minute guided tour that includes the basilica, monastery, convent, and catacombs.
Photograph by Massimo ListriSet in a Benedictine monastery founded in 739, the St. Emmeram library was created just before 1000. In the Early Middle Ages, its scriptorium became a renowned center of bookmaking and illumination, and began lending books for copying by nearby libraries. The monastery can be visited together with the Thurn und Taxis palace on a guided tour.
Photograph by Massimo ListriRome’s first public library, Biblioteca Angelica first started amassing its 200,000 volumes in the late 13th century before making it publicly available 300 years later. The collection includes a precious early copy of The Divine Comedy, and the first volume of Cicero’s De Oratore. The library is open to the public Monday through Friday, save for two weeks in August.
Photograph by Massimo ListriIn 1840, Charles Babbage brought his Analytical Engine—the first computer—to the Academy of Science in Turin. The Academy library and historic archive contains two centuries of letters, codices, manuscripts, and industrial patents donated by scholars associated with the institution.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe maps and documents pertaining to the Spanish colonization of the New World are housed within Seville’s Archivo de Indias (Archive of the Indies). Established in 1785, the Archive was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site just over a hundred years later. Visitors can access the permanent collection, view maps and letters, and peruse temporary exhibits on their own, free of charge.
Photograph by Massimo ListriFounded in 1933 and relocated several times within mainland China before settling in Taipei, Taiwan’s national library makes its reading rooms available to library card holders. Its holdings include the Rare Books Collection, home to one of the world’s best selections of historic Chinese manuscripts.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe National Archive of Austria was once a private wing of the Hofburg imperial residence. Now it’s the largest Baroque library in Europe, open daily from June to December.
Photograph by Massimo ListriNow occupied by a bank, the Palazzo Altieri was once home to the Altieri family, a prominent Roman noble family that included Pope Clement X. When Clement X was elected in 1670, he had the top floor of the palace converted to a library, still known to be one of the most magnificent in Rome.
Photograph by Massimo ListriBehind Petrin Hill and Prague Castle stands the Strahov monastery and library. Founded in 1143, the monastery has withstood fire and war and still operates to this day. The Theological Hall is the oldest part of the library, established in 1671, and the Philosophical Hall was added in 1794. Biblical frescoes adorn the ceilings, making the library truly breathtaking in more ways than one: Potentially damaged by humid breath, the art is ttoo fragile for visitors to view.
Photograph by Massimo ListriDesigned by architect Henri Labrouste, the Sainte-Geneviève Library is considered central to the advent of the modern library. A public and university institution, the library is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe current library carries a double name owing to the origin of its collection. When the Italian state established a new seat for the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, the original Corsiniana library bequeathed its collection to the academy. The library is open to the public and offers guided tours.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe Mafra National Palace was once a royal convent. Its library, completed in 1730, contains over 35,000 leather-bound volumes amassed by royal commission. In 1745, the Pope granted the library special permission to house the so-called forbidden books. The library is open only to researchers and scholars with “justification” and a prior appointment.
Photograph by Massimo ListriOpened to the public in 1780, the Biblioteca Teresiana still operates as a public library. Visitors should note the historic library is located within the building—just ask the staff to access it.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe Duke d'Aumale was a passionate bibliophile. His private collection of 60,000 volumes includes major works of medieval art, manuscripts dating to the 11th century, and ”The King of Manuscripts,” reputed to be the most precious and beautiful in the world. Visitors can access digital versions for free.
Photograph by Massimo ListriA fire in 2012 broke out in one of the oldest galleries of the Biblioteca Palatina. Fortunately, most of its impressive collection was spared. Of its 708,000 works, the library contains one of the oldest surviving Jewish collections in the world, and original letters by Galileo, Machiavelli, Martin Luther, and Guiseppe Verdi.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe Baroque Joanina library is home to 70,000 volumes—and a colony of bats. The bug-eating creatures have done their part to keep the collection free from pests since at least the 19th century, and librarians there have done their part to accommodate them. To catch a glimpse, try visiting just before closing time on a rainy afternoon.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe library at the active Kremsmünster Abbey holds a large number of incunabula (books printed before the year 1501), and the Codex Millenarius, an 8th-century book containing all four Gospels. Tours in English take in the abbey's imperial hall, the treasure chamber, the famed Tassilo chalice, and the library. Visitors must book in advance.
Photograph by Massimo ListriThe Library of Trinity College, founded in 1592, receives nearly one million visitors a year. The main draw is a famed medieval text, The Book of Kells, housed within the Long Room where the library’s 200,000 oldest books are stored. Visitors can see both on a self-guided tour, open daily.
Photograph by Massimo ListriFounded in 1688, Biblioteca Civica principally houses medical and science texts bequeathed by physican Romolo Spezioli. Housed in the Globe Room, the library has been open to the public since its inception and can be visited as a complement to the main museum.
Photograph by Massimo ListriIncluded among the 180,000 items in Oxford’s Codrington Library are manuscripts dating from the 11th century and memorabilia of Laurence of Arabia. Closed the public, the library is open by application only to bona fide scholars and Oxford students.
Photograph by Massimo Listri