Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli

The Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation is one of the major European centres of documentation and research in the field of social, historical, economic and political sciences. Born in 1949 from a private initiative of Giangiacomo Feltrinelli as a library specialized in the collection and preservation of materials and documents related to the history of the laboring movement, soon it expanded its purposes and areas of interest. Converted first into an Institution, and then into a Foundation thanks to an administrative order of the President of the Republic of the 27th of April 1974. From the 25th of March 1961 until the 13th of December 2016 it has been located in via Romagnosi 3 in Milan. Today it is located in viale Pasubio 5 in Milan, inside a new space of citizenship designed by the architectural firm Herzog and De Meuron. This new building hosts 12 linear km of archive, a Feltrinelli library, the Babitonga Cafè, the Sala Polifunzionale, the Sala Lettura and offices. The Fondation owns a library and an archive that include 1,5 million of historical documents, 250.000 volumes and 17.000 periodicals. These materials are freely accessible for the public and primarily intended to allow research activity of professors, academics, scholars etc. The Foundation organizes seminars, international conferences, lectures, exhibitions, research activities and many other cultural initiatives thanks to the involvement of both Italian and international experts. Main issues are related to modern and contemporary history, political, economic and social history, ideas, political cultures and democratic movements, social sciences, globalization and multiculturalism, according to specific guidelines dictated by the scientific committee.