Activities and Culture
Il Castello come polo culturale radicato sul territorio
Library
Our archives host a significant collection of narrative and history of cinema volumes formerly belonging to Angelo Lino Peroni, professor of History and Cinema History and Critique at the University of Parma Pavia, as well as a dedicated section for readers interested in the research topics covered by the Centre for Studies on the Local Territory – thanks to the contribution of relevant research Centres in the field.
Our library is one of a few offering a collection of publications on the topics of Lombard agriculture and landscape, their history and their evolution.
The Castle Library (approx. 2.000 publications) is a branch of the Library of the Collegio Ghislieri in Pavia, which hosts more that than100,000 volumes (including incunabula, cinquecentine from the 1500s and seicentine from the 1600s) and represents one of the most impressive private library collections in Europe.
The library is also a pleasant and well-equipped study and research space, fitted with a state-of-the-art reading and consultation room, available to the local community and to all those availing of our services.
The library is open to the public by appointment.
Centre for Studies on
the Local Territory
The Centre for Studies on theLocal Territory was founded to further enhance the connection with the surrounding territory, promoting research on the area that surrounds the Castlefrom multiple points of view: agriculture, tradition, cuisine and history.
Among its primary activities is the creation of permanent and temporary exhibitions, aimed at enhancing the architecture and the spaces within the building and on the territory, and the production of informationmaterials, made available to the visitors of Lardirago Castle.
The will to promote research on the territory is also testified by concrete contributions: grants for young researchers are available, including the possibility of funding the publication of their studies.
The Scientific Committee consists of Prof. Andrea Belvedere (President of the Scientific Committee and Chancellor of the Collegio Ghislieri), Dr Chiara Rindone (Secretary of the Scientific Committee and Supervisor of the Castle Activities), Prof. Arianna Arisi Rota(Full Professor of Contemporary History, University of Pavia), Dr Giulia Delogu (Modern History Researcher, “Ca’ Foscari” University, Venice), Dr Alessandro Maranesi(Vice-Chancellor and Supervisor of the Collegio Ghislieri Library) and Prof. Paolo Mazzarello(Full Professor of History of Medicine, University of Pavia).
Permanent Exhibitions
For information and guided tours please contact the Castle’s Administration Office.
“Lardirago and its
Territory”
As a testimony of its centuries-old rooting on the territory, the Castle hosts the exhibition “Lardirago and itsterritory: a microcosm of agricultural and food history in Lombardy (16th – 19th century)”, which develops around the following themes:
- · The Castle and its Territory
- · The cultivation and culture of rice
- · Food in Lombardy from the 16th to the 19th century
- · A 450-year-long history: Ghislieri and his Castle
The exhibition, available in English on digital platforms, offers a key to understand the evolution that agriculture, food and the relationship between man and the Lombard territory underwent between the 16th and 19th century.
It represents a useful teaching tool to convey the theme of food and agriculture also to primary and secondary schools.
