Royal Library of Turin
Turin, Italy. Founded 1831.
- Type: Royal
- City: Turin
- Country: Italy
- Founded: 1831
Overview
King Charles Albert of Sardinia founded the Biblioteca Reale in 1831 inside the Royal Palace of Turin, gathering the books and manuscripts of the House of Savoy. Its most famous treasure is the red chalk drawing long believed to be the self portrait of Leonardo da Vinci, acquired by Charles Albert in 1839 along with other Old Master drawings. The library also keeps the Codex on the Flight of Birds, a Leonardo notebook on aerodynamics given to the House of Savoy in the 1890s.
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