Library «Sant’Antonio dottore»
Manager: father Luciano Bertazzo
tel: [+39] (0)49.8200743
e-mail: biblio.antoniodottore@unipd.it
Via San Massimo 25, 35129 Padua
The Library is located within the St. Anthony the Doctor Theological Institute.
It can be reached by APS buses (stop “Ospedale Civile”) on lines 14, 24, 41, 43. From the bus stop it is about a 5-minute walk.
On-site parking is available, with entrance from Via S. Eufemia 13 bis.
The Library observes the following opening hours (effective from 07/01/2014):
Monday: 9:00–13:00 / 14:30–18:00
Tuesday: 9:00–13:00 / 14:30–18:00
Wednesday: 9:00–13:00 / 14:30–18:00
Thursday: 9:00–13:00 / 14:30–18:00
Friday: 9:00–13:00 / closed (afternoon)
Wednesday, 20 December 2024: the Library will open at 16:00 instead of 14:30.
From 23 December 2024 to 6 January 2025: the Library will be closed.
The Collection of Knowledge
Since 1938, on the first floor of the 17th-century Palazzo Contarini, the “St. Anthony the Doctor” Theological Institute has housed the “St. Anthony the Doctor” Library, the reference library of the Friars Minor Conventual’s Italian Province of Saint Anthony of Padova.
With a long tradition behind it, the Conventual Franciscans’ presence in Padova has successfully combined pastoral ministry with theological and human formation. Specialized in religious studies and Franciscanism, the Library also offers public consultation of a rich selection of works in philosophy, psychology and the arts, confirming the friars’ ongoing commitment to the cultural enrichment of both the Church and civil society.
The collection amounts to about 180,000 volumes, including several hundred active journals and a substantial rare/early holdings section currently being catalogued. The 30-seat reading room—air-conditioned in summer and heated in winter, with adjustable lighting—offers open access for anyone wishing to study using their own books or to make use of the extensive holdings, including through assisted consultation. Users with disabilities can also access the library facilities via elevator.
Through the Veneto University Library Hub, the Library has been part of Italy’s National Library Service (SBN) since 1998, and its catalogue can be consulted here: https://galileodiscovery.unipd.it/
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