The IRIS libraries
The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies
Berenson Library - Villa I Tatti
via di Vincigliata, 26 - 50123 Florence (Italy)
tel. +39 055 603251 - fax +39 055 603383
e-mail: library@itatti.harvard.edu
http://www.itatti.harvard.edu/
Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM. Closed on Italian national holidays and other holidays
observed by Villa I Tatti, the month of August, Christmas holidays and during on-site conferences and lectures
Access: open to researchers holding the Master's degree, or its equivalent;
exceptions can be made upon written request. Readers should present a letter of introduction;
university professors a document of faculty identification
Readers' services:
reference, on-site consultation (no loans), limited photocopying, microfilm/microfiche reader/printer
The Biblioteca Berenson is the library of the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti. The Center, a post-doctoral research institute devoted to advanced study in all areas of the Renaissance in Italy, came into being in 1961 as the result of the donation to the University by Bernard Berenson, the eminent art historian and critic, of the villa along with his important collection of books, photographs, and works of art. Although Berenson's library gave primary emphasis to Italian art, it was also celebrated for its extraordinary range, which encompassed the whole of Mediterranean civilization, including classical antiquity and the Islamic world, as well as other selected subjects in Middle Eastern and Oriental Studies. The scope of the library has been expanded since Berenson's death with substantial additions in all areas relevant to late Medieval and Renaissance scholarship, including history, literature, history of science, and musicology.
Patrimony
Berenson Library
The library is composed of ca. 180,000 volumes, of which 1,324 are works published before
1800, ca. 2,500 periodicals of which 622 are currently received, ca. 15,000 art auction
catalogs, ca. 12,000 works on microforms.
The Morrill Music Library is composed of ca. 10,000 titles, including a rich collection of printed music scores and early music manuscripts on microfilm,
and ca. 1,500 sound recordings.
The Asian and Islamic Collection, focusing on the fine arts and archaeology, is composed
of ca. 3,500 titles.
Berenson Fototeca
This famous photographic archive is composed of over 300,000 photographs whose main focus
is Italian painting, 1300-1550.
Archivio Berenson
The Archivio Berenson preserves the correspondence, personal papers, and manuscripts of
Bernard and Mary Berenson. Later donations include the archives of Giorgio Castelfranco,
Andrea Francalanci,Frederick Hartt, Giuseppe Marchini, Emilio Marcucci, Roberto and Livia
Papini, and Valeria Piacentini.
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Other resources
- Art Discovery Group Catalogue
- Internet Culturale
- SBART - Sistema Bibliotecario Atenei Regione Toscana
- BNCF - Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze
- OPAC SBN - Catalog of National Library Service
- EDIT 16 - The Census of Italian 16th Century Editions
- MAI - MetaOPAC Azalai Italiano
- Univ. degli Studi di Firenze - Sistema Bibliotecario d'Ateneo
- Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz
- European University Institute - Library
- Museo Galileo - Florence
- The Library of the Scuola Normale Superiore
- URBS - Unione Romana Biblioteche Scientifiche
- URBiS Library Network
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- The Library of Congress online Catalog
- The British Library
- BnF - Bibliothéque nationale de France
- HOLLIS - Harvard On Line Library Information System
- Library of the Universiteit van Amsterdam
- Utrecht University Library
- KVK - Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog
- The Warburg Institute Library
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- ITALE - Association of Italian Ex-Libris Users
- IGeLU - The International Group of Ex Libris Users
- AIB - Italian Library Association
- SRS - Society for Renaissance Studies
- RSA - The Renaissance Society of America