Return to:
Useful info
British Council, Via Manzoni 38. Tel. 02.7722.2214. Library
open Mon-Thurs 11.00-20.30, Fri 11.00-20.00, Sat 11.00-16.00; it includes
newspapers, periodicals, reference books, novels, CDs, language resources.
Euro 80 per year charge (free for British Council students).
Centre Culturel Français, Palazzo delle Stelline, Corso
Magenta 63. Tel. 02.485.91.91, fax 02.485.91.952. Multimedial library
open Mon-Fri 10-19, Tues 13.00-20.00, closed Sat and Sun, Tel. 02.4859.1940,
www.france-italia.it.
Goethe Institut (German), Via San Paolo 10, tel. 02.7769.1721,
02.7600.9186, www.goethe.de/mailand.
Library with over 20,000 books, magazine, newspapers, cassettes, videos,
CDs. Free membership card. Open Tues 10.00-18.00, Wed & Thurs 10.00-13.00,
15.00-19.00, Fri 10.00-13.00, 15.00-18.00, Sat 10.00-14.00, closed Sun
& Mon.
Instituto Cervantes (Spanish), Via Dante 12. Tel. 02.7202.3450,
www.milan.cervantes.es.
Library open Mon 11.00-13.00, 15.30-19.00, Tues-Wed 11.00-13.00, 15.30-18.00,
Thurs 11.00-13.00, 15.30-19.00, Fri 11.00-13.00. Admission free.
Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente, Via Festa
del Perdono 3, tel. 02.5835.2377,
www.isiao.it/sezionelombarda.asp. Books on Asia and Africa and respective
languages. Admission free. Open Mon-Thurs 10.00-13.00, 14.00-17.30, Fri
10.00-13.00, 14.00-17.30.
Istituto Italo-Cinese, Via Carducci 18, tel. 02.862.325,
www.china-italy.com.
Books, periodicals and maps in Chinese. Monthly card Euro 5.16.
Italia-Russia, Via Dogana 4, tel.02.8056.122,
www.italiarussia.it. Admission free. Open Nov-May Mon-Sat 9.00/12.00,
June-Oct Mon-Sat 9.00-12.30, 15.00-18.30.
United States Study Centre (Centro per gli Studi degli Stati
Uniti - CSSU), Piazza S. Alessandro 1. Tel. 02.5835.3593. Library (part
of another library in the State University premises) open to the public
10.00-17.00 Mon-Thurs. Admission free.
When you visit libraries it is a good idea to have your passport with you, as in many cases an ID document is required for entrance or for consulting a book, or for becoming a member.
Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Piazza Pio XI 2, tel. 02.806.921,
www.ambrosiana.it.
A historic library founded by Federico Borromeo in the 16th
century, with an exceptional collection of antique books and manuscripts.
Card required, Euro 8 for one week, Euro 26 per month, Euro 100 per year.
Open Mon-Fri 9.30-17.00.
Biblioteca Braidense, Via Brera 28, tel. 02.8646.0907, www.braidense.it.
A very beautiful library, well worth a visit just for the sight of all
those antique books in lovely halls. Admission free. Open Mon-Fri 8.30-18.10,
Sat 9.00-13.30.
Biblioteca Sormani, Corso di Porta Vittoria 6, tel. 02.8846.3397,
www.sormani.it. Milan’s
largest public library, in which it is remarkably difficult to come into
contact with a book – a common situation in Italian libraries. You have
to compile form after form after consulting catalogues. Admission free.
Open Mon-Sat 9.00-19.30. A catalogue of books owned by the Municipal libraries
can be consulted at www.comune.milano.it/biblioteche
Biblioteca della Montagna CAI, Via Silvio Pellico 6,
tel. 02.3651.5704, www.caimilano.it. A small library dedicated to climbing,
particularly the Alps, with a good selection of international climbing
magazines. Admission free. Open Tues 10.00-12.30, 13.30-18.00, 21.00-22.30;
Thurs 10.00-12.30, 14.00-19.00.
Biblioteca delle Donne, Corso di Porta Nuova 32, tel. 02.2900.5987,
www.storiadelledonne.it. Books, periodicals, photos, posters on women
and feminism. Admission free. Open Tues and Thurs 10.00-17.00, Mon and
Fri by appointment.
Biblioteca di Via Senato, Via Senato 14, tel. 02.7621.5315,
www.bibliotecadiviasenato.it. The history of companies in Italy from 1861,
Italian cinema and science fiction. Admission free. Open Tues-Sun 10.00-18.00.
Biblioteca Teatrale Livia Simoni, Corso Magenta 71, tel. 02.4691.249,
www.teatroallascala.org. Theatre, opera books, dance, scene design. Card
Euro 4. Open Mon-Fri 9.00-12.30, but you should phone prior to your visit.
Castello Sforzesco, Piazza Castello 1, tel. 02.8846.3701, www.milanocastello.it.
The history of the Castle, Milan and Lombardy. Art history. There are
various sections – archaeology, numismatics, art, Trivulziana, applied
arts – with different opening times. All admission free. Approximate times
are 9.00-17.30 every day.
Centro Documentazione Arti Visive Care Of, Via Farini 35, tel.
02.6680.4473, and in Via Luigi Nono 7, tel. 02.3315.800, www.viafarini.org.
Contemporary art, and an archive of work by young artists. Admission free.
Open Tues-Sat 15.00-19.00.
Conservatorio, Via Conservatorio 12, tel. 02.7600.3097, www.conservatorio-milano.it.
The library of Milan’s music school includes books on music and music
scores. Admission free. Mon-Sat 9.00-12.00.
Ferruccio Parri, Viale Sarca 336, tel. 02.6411.0633, 02.6411.0634,
www.insmli.it/biblioteca. Books on Fascism, Antifascism, the Second World
War and the Resistance movement. Admission free. Open Mon 14.00-17.30,
Tues and Thurs 9.30-13.00, 14.00-17.30, Fri 9.30-13.00, 14.00-16.00.
Fondazione Feltrinelli, Via Romagnosi 3, tel. 02.874.175, 02.8693.911,
www.feltrinelli.it/fondazione. Social sciences, history, economics. Admission
free. Tues, Wed and Thurs 10.30-17.30, Fri 9.00-13.00.
Fashion Work Library Club, Via Vigevano 35, tel. 02.8356.020,
www.fashionlibrary.it. Library specialising in fashion, including the
trend books that are so important in the sector. Open free for students
on Tuesdays 9.00-13.00. On other days, you have to be a member (Euro 58-110
per year) to get in, hours Mon-Fri 8.30-19.30, Sat and Sun 10.30-13.00,
14.00-19.00.
Fondazione Mondadori, Via Riccione 8, tel. 02.3927.3061, www.fondazionemondadori.it.
Books published by Mondadori from 1912 up until today. Admission free
with some form of ID card. Open Mon-Fri 9.00-13.00, 14.00-18.00, phone
before visiting.
Istituto dei Ciechi, Via Vivaio 7, tel. 02.77.22.61, 02.79.45.65,
www.istciechimilano.it, www.macnastroteca.org. Books in Braille and in
large letters for visually impaired people. Admission free. Open Mon,
Wed and Fri 9.00-12.00, Tues and Thurs 14.30-17.00.
ISPI, Via Clerici 5, tel. 02.8633.13244 (library), 02.8633.13247
(magazines), www.ispionline.it. International relations, diplomacy and
organisations. The magazines section takes 200 international titles in
the fields of politics and military strategy. Admission free. Library
open Thurs and Fri 9.00-16.00.
Mediateca dello Spettacolo, Via Salasco 4, tel. 02.5830.2813,
www.scuolecivichemilano.it. Theatre, performance, puppetry, circus, in
manuscripts, books, scripts, microfilm, photographs, video. Admission
free. Open Mon, Tues and Wed 11.30-14.30, 15.30-20.00, Thurs 10.30-14.30,
15.30-19.00, Fri 11.00-14.00, 15.00-19.00.
Mediateca di Santa Teresa, Via della Moscova 30, tel. 02.8739.781,
www.mediabrera.it. 120 workstations for digital resources and Internet,
with data banks, CDs, videos and DVDs, in the fields of literature, art
and social sciences. Admission free. Open Mon-Fri 10.00-18.20, Sat 10.00-13.50.
Papirologia ed Egittologia, Via Festa del Perdono 7, tel. 02.5031.2903.
A university library dedicated to Ancient Egypt. Admission free. Open
Mon-Fri 9.00-12.30, 13.30-16.30.
San Raffaele, Via Olgettina 58, tel. 02.2643.2760, www.fondazionesanraffaele.it.
Medicine, ethics of medicine, biotechnology. Admission free. Open Mon-Fri
9.00-19.00.
Touring Club Italiano, Via Adamello 10, tel. 02.5359.9421,
www.touringclub.it. Geography and maps, with Italian and international
books, photographs, maps from 1800 up until today. Admission by appointment,
free for TCI members, Euro 10 for others. Open Mon, Wed and Fri 9.00-12.00.
Umanitaria, Via Daverio 7, tel. 02.5796.831, www.umanitaria.it.
Publications on social history, the working class movement, politics,
economics, literature. Admission free. Open Mon/Fri 9.00-13.00.
Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, Via Arcivescovado 1, tel. 02.7202.2656,
www.internetlandia.it/duomo. Documents regarding the construction of the
cathedral, including a musical archive. Admission free. Open Mon-Fri 14.30-17.00.
University libraries
The libraries listed below are generally small, but have a selection of books in Italian, with small sections of international books, and a few international magazines. Admission free for all. All offer connection to the Sormani catalogue which effectively enables you to gain access to a very large collection of books.
Youth info. “Informagiovani”, a service run by the municipality of Milan. Information on resources, finding work, study courses, leisure activities, sports, holidays, culture, volunteer work. Publications for consultation. www.comune.milano.it/giovani (website will soon be available in English). There are two offices:
Via Laghetto 2 (MM1/3 Duomo), open Mon-Fri 14.00-18.00, tel. 02.8846.5760, 02.8846.5761. Free internet access here, including facilities for people with sight disabilities (dictation programmes).
Vicolo Calusca 10 (entrance from Corso di Porta Ticinese 106), MM2 Porta Genova, open Mon and Wed 10.00-18.00, Thurs and Fri 14.00-18.00.