Braidense National Library

The Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense or Braidense National Library, usually known as the Biblioteca di Brera, is a public library in Milan, in northern Italy. It is one of the largest libraries in Italy. Initially it contained large historical and scientific collections before it was charged with the legal deposit of all publications from Milan. Since 1880, it has had the status of a national library and is today one of the 47 Italian State libraries.

The library was created in 1770 by Maria Theresa of Austria when she decided to make the collection she had acquired from Carlo Pertusati available to the public. The library was opened in 1786 in the Brera Palazzo del Collegio which had been taken over by the State following the dissolution of the Society of Jesus in 1773. In addition to the Pertusati collection, the library also contained the holdings of the Collegio Braidense and of the Jesuit houses of San Fedele and San Girolamo.

Thereafter the library benefitted from various private collections and from the libraries of other religious orders which had been dissolved as well as duplicates from the Imperial Library in Vienna. From 1788, the collection was enhanced by adding publications received under legal deposit regulations which covered works published in the State of Milan. As a result, the Braidense became the regional legal deposit archive for Lombardy.

In 1880, the Braidense was given the status of national library.

The library is located in the Palazzo di Brera, an imposing building constructed by the Jesuits in the 17th century. In addition to the library, it is also home to the Brera Art Gallery, the Brera Astronomical Observatory, the Brera Botanical Gardens, the Lombard Institute of Science and Letters and the Brera Academy of Fine Arts. Since 2003, it has also housed the Archivio Storico Ricordi, the historical records of the Ricordi classical music publishing company.

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