The Tucci Newspaper Library, a paper treasure trove of Neapolitan history: Lino Zaccaria recounts it in "La memoria di carta" (Paper Memory).

In the beating heart of Naples, the Tucci Newspaper Library and Library proves to be a silent guardian of the city's history, and with "La memoria di carta," Lino Zaccaria invites us to rediscover this treasure trove of knowledge that has defied time, revealing the power of memory through paper.

Naples – In the heart of Piazza Matteotti, on the second floor of the monumental Palazzo delle Poste, lies one of Naples' most extraordinary and lesser-known cultural treasures: the Tucci Newspaper Library and Library, a veritable "paper treasure chest" that preserves the soul of the city through over a century of periodicals and rare documents.

This “almost magical” place is the protagonist of the new book by Lino Zaccaria, a long-time journalist at Il Mattino, entitled “La memoria di carta” (Giannini Editore, Sorsi series).

The volume, an essay-interview that passionately and expertly portrays the history and value of the institution, will be presented for the first time on Thursday, January 22nd at 11 a.m. at the Newspaper Library's headquarters in the Palazzo delle Poste.

Following institutional greetings from the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Salvatore Maffei—a tireless driving force behind Tucci since 1970—and Giulia Giannini, representing the publishing house, there will be speeches by the editor of Il Mattino, Vincenzo Di Vincenzo, the writer and journalist Donatella Trotta, and Marcello Andria, professor of bibliography at the University of Salerno. The meeting will be moderated by Tiuna Notarbartolo, journalist and director of the Elsa Morante Prize.

Founded in 1907 by the Sindacato Correspondenti (Correspondents' Union), the organization of Neapolitan journalists who sent correspondence to national newspapers, the Newspaper Library arose from the practical need to consult back issues. In 1913, thanks to one of its founders, Vincenzo Tucci (after whom the institution is named), it moved to Palazzo Gravina; since 1936, it has occupied the spaces of Palazzo Vaccaro (the Post Office), where it has endured despite wars, bombings, and chronic financial difficulties.

Since 1970, Salvatore Maffei, with almost monastic dedication, has transformed the structure into an international point of reference: today it boasts over 10.000 collections of Italian and foreign periodicals (the oldest dates back to 1648), for a total of approximately 300.000 volumes, 200 of which are unique in the world.

Added to these are 50.000 books, including incunabula, extremely rare sixteenth- and seventeenth-century works, autographed correspondence by artists and writers from the last four centuries, and a unique collection of over one hundred Futurist manifestos. Zaccaria, a professional journalist since 1973 and for over forty years at Il Mattino (where he ended his career as editor-in-chief), signs this work as a tribute not only to an institution, but to the collective memory preserved in "paper."

His previous books include journalism manuals, historical essays such as "The Bloody Eagle" on Corradino di Svevia, and, again with Giannini Editore, "Contessa carità" in the same Sorsi series. A must-read for those who love history, journalism, and the hidden stories that Naples continues to tell within its austere walls.