Le Biblioteche Reali di Napoli e Madrid: due storie parallele

Abstract

The founding of modern cultural institutions was owed to the rulers of the Enlightenment in Eighteenth-century Europe. Among these, real libraries have played a particularly strategic role in documenting all knowledge and providing useful tools for public education. By sharing the same purposes under the same Bourbon dynasty, the libraries of Naples and Madrid have adopted different library models, from printed catalogues to protection measures. By comparing archival documents and little-known bibliographic resources, this contribution reinteprets the historical events that occured during the Bourbon rule and influenced the future of the two cities.