The Oratorian State Library attached to the Girolamini National Monument in Naples è a library specializing in Christian Theology, Philosophy, Christian Church in Europe, Church History, Sacred Music and General History of Europe. Housed in the’Oratory of the Girolamini, contrary to the customs of monastic orders, which did not admit the public into their libraries, the Institute from 1586 was open to the public. The Library è one of the richest in the Mezzogiorno and the oldest among Neapolitan libraries, long frequented by Giambattista Vico. In 1727 the Oratorian fathers, on Vico’s advice, purchased the Library of Giuseppe Valletta, which included a rich collection of legal, philosophical, religious and literary texts from 17th- and 18th-century Naples. The Library, which depends on the Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities, è is located in four stunning 18th-century and two modern rooms of the extraordinary Girolamini monumental complex. It has a library holdings of about 159,700 units; including volumes and pamphlets, including 137 musical printed books, 5,000 16th-century editions, 120 incunables, 10,000 rare and valuable editions, 485 periodicals, an as yet undetermined amount of microfilm and portraits. Several funds have enriched the institute’s holdings, including 5,057 volumes of the Agostino Gervasio Fund, whose texts deal with archaeology, numismatics, bibliography and classical literature; the Filippino Fund, mainly on ecclesiastical history, sacred scripture and theology; the Giuseppe Valletta Fund, containing rare editions from the 16th and 17th centuries consisting of Latin and Greek classics, history and philosophy; and the 940 volumes of the Valeri Fund dealing with the history of Naples and southern Italy.
