Royal Library of Turin


The Royal Library of Turin is a library located within the ground floor of the Royal Palace of Turin, itself a World Heritage Site in Turin, Italy.

History

Since his ascent to the throne of the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1831, king Charles Albert wished to boost the cultural standing of the nation, and he did so through the introduction of a series of reforms and the establishment of a number of institutions. The library was then founded in 1842 as one of such institutions, with one of its aims being that of grouping and safeguarding manuscripts collected by the House of Savoy. The library was fitted out by painter and decorator Pelagio Palagi. In 1893 a Russian collector donated Leonardo da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds to the library's collection. Further works by Leonardo held by the library include his presumed self-portrait, his study for the angel in his Virgin of the Rocks, and his study for the angel in Verrocchio's The Baptism of Christ.