Founded in 1619, the public library of Rimini called Biblioteca Civica Gambalunga is an impressive Renaissance establishment with a collection of almost 300,000 books. Often described as Italy’s first civic library, its building was commissioned by local lawyer Alessandro Gambalunga, a layperson rather than a cardinal; this was an unusual case in the era.
Gambalunga’s collection, as well as his library, was bequeathed to the city after his death as per his will. He demanded it to be open to the public, and thus the first civic library in Italy was created.
Notably, the library was visited by such luminaries as Ezra Pound and Aby Warburg. The historic building was among the few in Rimini’s city center to survive World War II, preserving the Renaissance library into the present day.
