From 9th to 30th September 2026, the Via Zirardini Open-Air Gallery will host LE SALE SUPERIORI DELLA BIBLIOTECA CLASSENSE, a photographic exhibition curated by the Classense Library, which showcases the grandeur of these spaces ahead of their opening to the public.
Following the reopening of the magnificent Aula Magna to the public, it is now the turn of the Library’s Upper Rooms, which will soon be open to the public thanks to an extensive programme of restoration, consolidation and refurbishment.
On display, ranging from detailed views to panoramic shots, are images of the Rooms, photographed by Mariasole Lega, which represent one of the most exquisite architectural and decorative features of the Classense Library, designed between 1764 and 1779 as an elevated, perspectival extension of the Aula Magna.
The first three rooms were designed by the architect Camillo Morigia (1744–1795) and, as well as housing his bequeathed collection of books, are richly decorated with carved wooden bookcases, stucco work, portraits of distinguished Camaldolese figures, and the exquisite ceiling painting by Mariano Rossi (1731–1807) Fame summons Virtue to the Temple of Glory.
The following eight rooms house other important book collections, including the bequest of Corrado Ricci (1858–1934) and, in the Dante Room decorated by the painter Enrico Piazza (1864–1945), the book collection dedicated to Dante, purchased by the Municipality of Ravenna in 1905 from the publisher and bibliophile Leo Samuel Olschki (1861–1940).
