History

The "Norberto Bobbio" Library is the result of the merger of the following libraries: Cognetti De Martiis, Federico Patetta, Francesco Ruffini and Gioele Solari. In 2016, the European library "Gianni Merlini" joined the original group of four.

Here are some notes about the history of the single libraries.

Salvatore Cognetti de Martiis Library
 

Cognetti library has more than one hundred years of life and its origin is gathered to that of the Laboratory of Economics, founded in 1893 by Salvatore Cognetti de Martiis. In 1988 became the current Department of Economics and Statistics.

Through public and private funding the library acquired statistics, monographs, surveys, reports and other documents which led it to own an interesting collection of materials, as Gaetano Mosca wrote in 1902.

Luigi Einaudi was its director and many other important scholars used to attend the library troughout the years.

The library, despite the difficulties during the Second World War, has expanded steadily. It became the largest library of Piedmont about the political economy, with an historical, highly significant economic documentation. The library received as funds many works of great bibliographic value, thanks to famous scholars as Vincenzo Leeks, Luigi Einaudi, Pasquale Jannaccone and Francesco Repaci.

Federico Patetta  Library

Established by Dean Decree in 1953 Federico Patetta Library is specialized in Italian history and common law, with specific relevance on historical and legal subjects. The core collection belonged to Professor Patetta and was aquired by Turin University under Guido Astuti’s suggestion.

The Library is entitled to Professor Federico Patetta, who taught for many years at the Law Faculty of Turin University. He was a distinguished historian, a refined collector and an eclectic scholar. The library was created to preserve and integrate the bibliographic material hecollected throughout his years of activity.

Due to Patetta’s diverse interests, the collection results a precious profile of different centuries, from several points of view: juridical, historic, artistic and literary. All the volumes are preserved in dedicated rooms, in order to keep their preciousness intact. More than 25 thousand books were published before 1831; among them, we mark 32 incunabula, over 28 hundred printed in the sixteenth century, more than 37 hundred printed in the seventeenth century and about 10 thousand in eighteenth century; many rare texts were printed in the nineteenth century.

The Library also preserves a manuscript dating back to mid-fourteenth century, a series of maps and military charts, a collection of satirical journals of the late nineteenth century and some reprints of rare works. The collection also includes public notices, manifestos and leaflets of both administrative and legislative nature. There is also a set of literary and religious announcements, to be stuck in special occasions like weddings, dressing priesthood or monastic and religious festivals. In the course of time, several collections were added to Professor Patetta’s legacy: among the most consistent, the legatos of professors Albini, Chiaudano, Pinoli and Pivano.

In 1983, by the will of Edoardo Ruffini, over 10 thousand volumes and booklets belonged to Francesco and Edoardo Ruffini join the Library, enhancing the existing patrimony.

Francesco Ruffini Library

Francesco Ruffini Library dates back to December 1881 when the Faculty of Law, with the help of the

University Consortium, founded the "Institute for exercises in Legal Studies and Policies".

In 1910, the Ministry of Education acknowledged it as one of the few remarkable university libraries.

The first location was in via Po 14, in the former place of the Academy. There, the library patrimony

consolidated its collections, composed of art subjects, monographs and legislative repertoires.

Acquisitions, legatos and funds made their contribution to the development. Among them, we mark

Professor Bertolini’s legacy, in the first place. It is composed of about 5 thousand monographs about

Roman legal history, published in various languages in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Professors Brondi and Pierandrei’s followed closely behind. The first, consisting of 25 hundred volumes

about law history, published between 1880 and 1930; the latter composed of 15 hundred units.

At the beginning of 1969, the library moved to “Palazzo Nuovo” the location of the Humanities faculties.

On June 3rd, 1996 the library name changes, due to the Academic Senate resolution, brought into effect by

the Chancellor Decree n. 697/27 June. The former wording: "library attached to legal institute” - universally

designated by the nickname “Il Giuridico" – disappears, replaced by departmental library entitled to

“Francesco Ruffini".

Gioele Solari Library

Established in 1954 on the private collection of the scholar Gioele Solari, the library owns

many books relating to philosophy of law and history of political thought. It belonged to the

Institute of Political Science until 1986 when, because of the founding of departments,

became the Interdepartmental Library of Social Sciences, History and Political Studies

(limited to history of North America). From this moment on, its bibliographic patrimony is

enriched with volumes concerning these subjects.

Today the Solari Library owns one of the most important collection of politic and social

science items, available to students and scholars.