Biblioteca Malatestiana

Right in the center of Cesena, Italy, is one of the few surviving chained libraries.

The Biblioteca Malatestiana was commissioned by Malatesta Novello, then Lord of Cesena, and opened in 1454. Inside, very little has changed. Natural light still filters into the church-like space, where 58 reading lecterns hold old texts in their wooden shelves, each chained in place.

The iron chains were put in so that the books wouldn’t get stolen, as they were quite a valuable commodity in the 15th century. The reading room itself, known as the Aula del Nuti after its architect Matteo Nuti, is still accessed through its original wooden doors, which need two separate keys to open. 

The Biblioteca Malatestiana is the only example in the world of a humanistic library perfectly preserved, for this reason, it was included in the Memory of the World Register by UNESCO in 2005.