Ancient Fund of the "Antonio Cicu" Law Library (Project, Digital Library and Virtual Tour)

As part of the intervention "Census, conservation, digitalization and valorization of the cultural heritage of the University of Bologna", within the project financed by the Fund for Culture promoted by the MIC 2021-2023, the agreement for digitalization began and valorization of part of the collection of ancient books of the “Antonio Cicu” Law Library.

The collection, born as a section of the library itself at the time of its establishment, collects more than 6000 volumes including incunabula, sixteenth-century (over 700) and precious eighteenth-nineteenth century editions. The sixteenth century constitute the most interesting part for the variety of contents and literary forms that are the expression of a law that has been in force at a European level for seven centuries. The ancient collection is currently kept on the main floor of the "CICU" building in via Zamboni 27/29 in Bologna.

In order to support the conservation, restoration, use and digitalisation of the cultural heritage of Italian universities, the Ministry of Cultural and Environmental Heritage has made it possible to reproduce in digital format approximately 300 volumes from our common law collection.

The Unibo Digital Library, which intends to respect the dual purpose of conservation and current affairs, which is typical of every 'living' library even if virtual, also aims not only to preserve the volumes and facilitate their dissemination and consultation, but also to enhance as a whole a heritage of book legal culture which is among the pride of the Alma Mater Studiorum.

In addition to this, an evocative Virtual Tour of the Ancient Fund has been created, which begins from the entrance of the building and continues along the staircase and the corridor with arches that lead to the two historic rooms in which the Fund is preserved. A narrator tells a brief history of the Fund and its constitution and then details the salient features.