Bibliotheque Gaston Defferre, Marseille

A cultural institution of the French town of Marseilles, the Regional Archives and Library are dedicated to the former mayor and renowned politician Gaston Defferre. Built in 2006 to replace the old regional library centre of the Bouches-du-Rhône department dating back to 1945, the new multifunctional building was meant to offer larger and better organized spaces to Marseilles citizens.  

Allowing easy access to culture to a wider audience, nowadays the library organizes a wide range of events, workshops, seminars, and shows, besides the regular promotion of exhibitions of every kind. Also become a place for exchanges and meetings owing to its modern facilities, the library’s main mission is to encourage local players in the book chain, such as writers, illustrators, and editors, to give loud voice to their creativity.

Initially designated as a private residence, in the course of history Palazzo Chigi has changed its purpose several times according to its different owners’ needs.  For the first few centuries, it was mainly home to important families of Papal Rome. Towards the end of the 18th century, it was mostly used as the Spanish embassy’s headquarters in Rome. In 1878 it was the official residence of the Ambassador of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, becoming headquarters of the Minister of Colonial Affairs during World War One in 1916. After its final renovation promoted by the Italian State in 1922, it has housed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for almost 40 years. Since 1961 it is the official seat of the Italian Prime Minister and of the Council of Ministers.

Palazzo Chigi, with its central and prestigious location in the heart of classical Rome, overlooks via del Corso and Piazza Colonna, taking its name from the two-thousand-year-old column of Marcus Aurelius which stands right in its centre. The clean design of the five-story structure typical of the Renaissance period features a grand staircase and an internal courtyard embellished by Giacomo della Porta’s fountain. The heritage of the Chigi family is still visible in the opulence of the applied, decorative, and fine arts collections displayed in the rooms of the palace. The precious pieces of furniture, paintings, and sculptures are a symbol of the political influence of the rich Chigi family at the time they owned the palace. The building is nowadays opened to visits, but only certain rooms and sections of it are actually accessible to the public.