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Museo dell'Istituto centrale per la patologia degli archivi e del libro «Alfonso Gallo»

Educational museum of the ICPAL in Rome on the damage suffered by books and documents and on conservation techniques; visits by appointment.

Ask the museum for opening hoursFree admission

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Limited operations. Visits take place by appointment or on open days; a Rome tourist guide lists the exhibition area as temporarily closed.

About the museum

The museum was conceived by Alfonso Gallo as the educational section of the institute he founded in 1938, today the Istituto centrale per la patologia degli archivi e del libro (ICPAL). The ICPAL was created in 2007 from the merger of the Istituto centrale di patologia del libro and the Centro di fotoriproduzione, legatoria e restauro degli archivi di Stato.

The rooms show the damage that can affect book material: that caused by light and heat, by acidic inks, by insects and micro-organisms, and by disasters such as floods, earthquakes and wars. Damaged volumes and fragments are on display, some burned or pierced by bullets. The route has been renewed with multimedia content.

The institute also organises guided tours, open days and activities for schools. Some guides list the exhibition area as temporarily closed.

Highlights

Volumes and fragments damaged by fire, water and insects
Route on damage from light, heat, acidic inks and micro-organisms
Multimedia content on book conservation
Guided tours and workshops for schools

Permanent exhibition

Il libro e i suoi nemici – Educational route on the damage caused to books and documents by light, heat, inks, insects, micro-organisms and disasters.

Founded: 1938
Operated by: Istituto centrale per la patologia degli archivi e del libro (ICPAL)