Naples, Sangiuliano visits the Gerolamini library: "Great heritage" 

"It is a great heritage that reflects the cultural greatness of the city of NapoliThe fact that we now have an important starting point, which I personally want to support, I think is significant, because this is one of Naples' treasures."

The Minister of Culture, Gennaro Sangiuliano, spoke thus about the Girolamini Library and Monumental Complex, which he visited as the second and final stop on his official tour of the Campania capital.

"I remember when I was a university student," he adds, "in the aftermath of the earthquake, this complex found itself in a state of degradation and disrepair. I remember the battles I fought as a journalist, together with the lawyer Gerardo Marotta, for this very site."

To revitalize one of the city's most important cultural and historical sites, following the devastation and looting of 2012 and its subsequent seizure, the State decided to take direct custody of the monument. In 2013, an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and the Confederation of the Oratory of San Filippo Neri for the management of the Girolamini.

In 2014, the Naples Public Prosecutor's Office revoked the precautionary seizure and ordered the seizure of evidence.

From February 5, 2020, the Girolamini Library and Complex will become an institution with special autonomy and of significant national interest, belonging to the General Directorate of Libraries and Copyright.

In light of the results achieved by the new governance, the complex was released from seizure in April 2022, and significant restoration work has begun and been partially completed. In particular, interventions in recent years have focused on three main areas, where exclusively European funds have been used.

The first is the so-called UNESCO construction site, which involves part of the facades of the complex overlooking Via Duomo and the church on Piazza dei Girolamini, the sixteenth-century cloister, the large cloister, and the Congregation of Doctors, as well as functional adaptations and redevelopment of the exhibition spaces.

The other two projects are managed by peripheral institutes of the Ministry of Culture. One is funded under the Pon Cultura e Sviluppo 2014-2020 and involves the enhancement of the visitor route and the completion of the restoration of the Church of San Filippo Neri, which is practically complete. The last project involves the wing of the library's historic rooms, which boasts 159.700 ancient books, including the famous and monumental Sala Vico, so named because it was frequented by the philosopher who convinced the Oratorian Fathers to purchase the private library of Giuseppe Valletta, a jurist and bibliophile, in 1727, thus enriching the rich collection of volumes already existing.