The Library and its collections
The Library of the Pontifical Theological Faculty Marianum serves faculty, students, and external researchers in theological studies, particularly those specializing in Mariology, offering them the opportunity to explore the figure of the Virgin through scholarly study. It also serves the Order of the Servants of Mary by preserving and safeguarding the rich collection of books that bear witness to the cultural activity conducted over the centuries by members of this religious family, in the best Mendicant tradition.
The Library’s foundation dates back to 1932, almost contemporaneous with the construction of the former College of St. Alessio Falconieri, the Servants of Mary’s study center on the Janiculum Hill. The General Chapter held that year decreed that all the Order’s convents be asked to transfer part of their book holdings to the new library, starting with that of the historic Roman convent of San Marcello al Corso. With the founding of the Faculty in 1950 and the subsequent development of Mariological studies, the library assumed a central role in the advancement of specialized research. It was up to librarian Giuseppe M. Besutti OSM, who in the meantime had taken over from the first librarian Raffaele M. Taucci OSM, to reorganize the book collections according to the needs of the nascent academic institution, dividing them into two main and specific collections: the Marian and the Servite collections.
The current Library spaces were inaugurated in 2016 and extend over 1,600 square meters, with approximately 7,500 meters of shelving housing a collection of over 160,000 volumes. The “Giuseppe Maria Besutti” reading room (212 square meters) is equipped with 24 study stations and 700 meters of free-access shelving, housing frequently consulted works and the latest issues of scientific journals to which the library subscribes.
The library’s rooms are adorned with stained-glass windows depicting the Seven Holy Founders of the Servants of Mary and a graceful Madonna and Child, works from the Servite convent in Brussels. Furthermore, the reading room houses the permanent exhibition “Eternal Mothers of Africa,” donated to the Library by Serena and Gian Paolo Bonani. The collection consists of twenty-five wooden sculptures, all featuring motherhood, originating from seventeen different populations of sub-Saharan Africa.
Below is a list of the Marianum Library’s collections.
SERVITAN COLLECTION
MARIAN COLLECTION
Pio XII
Art
Asceticism
Biographies
Music
Monographs
Sanctuaries
Various Writings
GENERAL COLLECTION
PERIODICALS
The Library also houses an ancient collection, several special collections, doctoral theses, manuscripts, a photographic archive, and a collection of engravings and prints.