Suspended tables and minimalist bookshelves for the Modern Library of the Monastery of Camaldoli
A few kilometers from Arezzo, surrounded by the peace of the Tuscan forest, stand the Sacred Hermitage and Monastery of Camaldoli. Founded at the beginning of the 11th century by Saint Romuald, the community of Camaldoli combines in one place the community dimension of the monastery and the solitary dimension of the hermit life. Next to the ancient galenic laboratory and the church, there is the secular library, with about 50,000 volumes.
Menichetti+Caldarelli architetti redesigned the Modern Library, in the basement of the Camaldoli complex. The goal of the project was to create a contemporary space combining a modern interior design project with the original function of preserving the cultural heritage.
Discover the library in the former church of San Michele Arcangelo, in Cervarese Santa Croce
The original structure, with the typical architecture of its time, forms a maze of rooms and passages, partly with vaulted brick ceilings and partly with wooden ceilings. This architecture rich in history provides the ideal setting for contemporary furnishings such as those by Lago.
The tables that seem to be suspended and the minimalist and rigorous bookshelves complete the minimalist spaces with white walls and floors, and ceilings where white alternates with pre-existing bricks. The result is a sequence of spaces where study and silence find their ideal place, creating the perfect atmosphere for the new Library of the Monastery of Camaldoli.
