It is here in the bustling town of Cesena where the Malatestiana Library is located. It is recognized throughout the world as the only conventional humanist library that has been perfectly preserved in a building.
The Malatestiana Library buildings, furnishings, and book collections are fully and perfectly preserved since its inception! What does “conventional humanist library” mean? Basically, it is the only library in the world that blends humanistic principles with architecture as an independent or public library (as opposed to a religious library).
This library has preserved the building as it was with 58 rows of reading desks and ‘coat of arm’ chairs with 348 centuries-old books chained to the desks for more than 550 years! Remember manuscript-styled books were quite expensive back then!
This library has been preserved in humidity levels that have been consistent the entire time. It even takes two keys to open the door to this library/study room built with plenty of rays of light through its windows! A rose window lights the corridor down the middle of the room. The Malatestiana Library has been recognized by UNESCO for this huge accomplishment.
