Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati di Siena

The Intronati library in Siena combines a rare book research collection and a public library in a fascinating building that sits at the heart of the Tuscan city’s history. In the 13th and 14th centuries, this was the Domus Misericordiae, a hospice for the poor, sick and orphaned. The plague of 1348 touched the city severely and reduced its ability to care for the needy, and the hospice floundered. In 1408, Pope Gregory XII converted what was remaining of it into a Domus Sapientiae, house of science and wisdom and the seed of what would eventually become the university of Siena.

A brick-walled library interior with arched ceilings, rows of bookshelves filled with books, and a stairlift attached to a stone staircase leading to a lower level with more bookshelves. — Starting in 1999, spaces for the public library were installed in the underground vaults of the former *Domus Sapientiae*.

Donations from wealthy students and Church officials contributed to the development of the Domus Sapientiae. Its rooms were updated over the years by the likes of Florentine architect Giuliano da Sangallo and Sienese Francesco di Giorgio, although details of their individual contributions have been lost by history. Rather than a single institution, the complex at first welcomed separate academies, like the Accademia dei Fisiocritici starting in 1694 and Accademia degli Intronati from 1525, who built the Scuola grande and its monumental door, which are today used as a conference room.

A library with brick walls and vaulted ceiling, empty computer desks on the left, and bookshelves filled with books on the right; bright lighting illuminates the space. — The entrance to the public library forms a long ramp flanked by workstations and bookshelves.

A brick archway labeled 13 leads to bookshelves and study desks in a well-lit library. Shelves are filled with books, and an emergency exit sign is mounted on the wall to the right of the arch. — The public library and children’s room are installed in a series of valuted cellars.

A person walks through a brick-arched library with bookshelves filled with books on both sides and another section visible through an arched doorway. — A long corridor connects all the rooms of the public library.

A large, well-lit library room with tall bookshelves on two levels, filled with books. There are desks, chairs, and a few computers in the center, and a large arched window at the far end lets in natural light. — The research collection, service desk and consultation tables in one of the former academy rooms.

In 1758, Archdeacon Sallustio Bandini donated his personal library, which formed the foundation of the university library. The latter was entrusted to Bandini’s secretary Giuseppe Ciaccheri, who expanded it significantly. The violent earthquake of 1798 followed by the French occupation in 1802 caused the decline of the university and its library. The university and its academies gradually moved to better locations in the vacated Jesuit college and former convents, replaced by the academy of fine arts. The collections that did not move with the university were converted into a public library, renamed “Intronati” in 1932 to commemorate the institution that oversaw its founding. In 1996, it was officially transferred to the municipality of Siena.

A spacious library room with high arched ceilings, tall bookshelves filled with old books, two rolling ladders, and a large globe in the center of the tiled floor; a white statue stands in the background. — The *Scuola Grande* room was built in the 16th century for the Intronati academy and once served as main reading room of the library.

A historic library room with tall bookshelves filled with books, a wooden desk with display stands, a large arched window, a wheeled ladder, paintings above the shelves, and an open doorway leading to another room.

Between 1999 and 2011, the underground vaults of the complex were adapted into a library for the public, with modern amenities and general collections of books and periodicals and a children’s room. The historic library rooms retained custody of the rare book and manuscript collections and now serve as study rooms for researchers.

A wooden library room with glass-fronted bookshelves filled with old books and mark with letters at the top. A wooden desk stands in the middle. — The personal library of Giulio del Taja by Agostino Fantastici is now part of the library collection.

Since 2021, the library is also the depository of the personal library of Sienese nobleman Giulio del Taja and its furniture, designed in 1824-25 by architect Agostino Fantastici, on loan from the Monte dei Paschi di Siena Foundation.

Open wooden doors lead to a room with arched stonework and ornate carvings above the entrance. Inside, a large globe stands in the center surrounded by chairs, with red curtains in the background. — The former entrance to the Intronati academy.

A long, arched hallway in a library with brick ceilings and walls, lined on both sides with tall bookshelves filled with books. A person sits at a desk at the very end, — The modern public library in the former cellars.

A library room with tall shelves filled with old books, a wooden desk with reading stands and information plaques, and a rolling ladder for accessing high shelves. — The rare book reading room in the former academy.

Narrow aisle between tall shelves filled with old books and documents in brown, worn covers; a step ladder is positioned at the end of the aisle under bright ceiling lights. — The library’s collection is estimated at over half a milion documents, from 7th century manuscripts to contemporary monographs.

The images shown here date from my visit in September 2025. I’m very grateful to the Intronati library staff for their gracious welcome!

References

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Content note

Library detail pages are primarily a place for me to collect information I gather on the libraries I visit, and are frequently updated. None of this should be considered authoritative, I am not an architect, nor a historian. If you notice something incorrect, please let me know!

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A spacious, traditional library room with high vaulted wooden ceilings, large arched windows, wooden tables and chairs, bookshelves, chandeliers, and framed portraits on the walls.

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Biblioteca Comunale degli Intronati di Siena

References

Content note

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