What’s in it?
1. Italian and foreign 19th and 20th century rail transport periodicals, such as the «Bollettino delle strade ferrate» (Turin 1850), the first magazine of its kind, and the «Rivista Tecnica delle Ferrovie Italiane» (1912-1940), which was replaced after the World War II by «Ingegneria Ferroviaria», the most important Italian periodical in this field, and today published by CIFI – Collegio Ingegneri Ferroviari Italiani.
2. Rail transport statistics. Among other statistics volumes, we can find the complete series of «Relazione statistica annuale» (the annual statistics’ report) reflecting the rail company’s activities from 1867 to 1992, when it was replaced by the annual balance sheet.
3. Legal texts and parliamentary inquiries. This section houses texts on not only rules and regulations but also tomes containing the full legal processes on drafted laws: they testify to the immense public interest in rail transport. The management of the railways and the plans for its development, during the fifty years that followed the unification of Italy in 1861 were important topics of debate.
4. Maps. These are extremely rare and valuable documents and date back to before the country was unified. Among the oldest maps we can find colour representations which trace the lines built by the Southern, Mediterranean and Sicilian rail companies and which reveal, with great accuracy, the historical layout of many railway lines.
5. Pre-unification railway documents. These papers testify to the origins and the development of the different rail networks throughout Italy and the petitions and proposal put forward by citizens.
6. Other works. The Library’s reading room is home to many other books covering a wide variety of different subjects, ranging from the «Italian Encyclopaedia» or «the History of Italian Architecture » to books on law and economic texts, all of which are available to the public.
