Museums and Libraries

Italy is one of the world’s greatest centers of architecture, art, and books. A lot of its art museums rank among the most famous in the world. A lot of Italy’s museums are the famous palace of kings or the houses of royal families. These museums include the Pitti palace and the Uffizi Palace in Florence. National archaeological museums in Caglian, Naples, and Palermo contain artifacts from the earliest history of Italy. Displays in the national galleries in Naples, Palermor, and Urbino have paintings by Italian masters.

All large Italian cities have public libraries. The largest libraries in the country are the national central libraries in Florence and Rome. The one in Florence has about four and a half million volumes; the one in Rome has about three and a half million volumes. In Italy, people visit libraries only for serious study. Local libraries have little in the way of popular books for general readers, and children’s libraries are rare.