Malatesta Library

The Malatesta Library was inaugurated in 1454, at the behest of Novello Malatesta, Lord of Cesena; it is unique in its kind and for this reason it is a Unesco World Heritage Site, it has preserved over the centuries, over 550 years, the same structure, the same content, furnishings, books and codes, as Malatesta had wanted. Everything that surrounds the library has changed over time, especially in the French age, when the convent in which it is kept was transformed into a military cavalry barracks; the inhabitants of Cesena therefore hid the books and benches of the library and when everything passed, they rearranged their most precious treasure in its place. The codices consisted of booklets made up of five sheets (20 sides) each, arranged one inside the other. The books were all handwritten on parchment, in a writing workshop where many copyists worked, some permanently, others passing through. At the origins of the library there is the convent of San Francesco, a Bible from the end of 1200 belongs to the convent, which Malatesta wanted as the fundamental biblical text of his library. La Malatestiana di Cesena is not only the library that is the memory of the world, but also a very popular public library and with digital technologies, the ancient texts have had a new life on the web; on the website of the library they can all be consulted, you can browse through entire manuscripts and you can also find all the information and possibilities.