Among the numerous UNESCO sites of Italy, a little-known jewel is the Malatesta Library in Cesena, the only example of a conventual humanist library perfectly preserved in the building, furnishings and manuscript collection, as recognized by UNESCO, which inserted it in its ‘Memory of the World’ program in 2008, the first in Italy.

The Malatesta library is a splendid Renaissance library which retains the original furnishings and an important collection of illuminated manuscripts thanks to the joint custody of the friars and the city. The idea of the library is indeed attributed to the friars of the convent of San Francesco in Cesena (Emilia-Romagna).