Museo teatrale SIAE del Burcardo

The Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori has an important theatre collection, open to the public from 1932, enriched over the years by the original collection from the private collection of Luigi Rasi, author, actor and director of the acting school in Florence.A considerable number of volumes, including many antique editions, autographs, playbills, theatre programmes, scripts, press cuttings and stage photos are made available to scholars for the documentation of the most important moments in Italian theatre life. The archive of engravings and drawings is particularly significant, especially as regards the iconographic aspect of the commedia dell'arte. There is also an interesting collection of paintings, statuettes, costumes, props and marionettes from the theatre of the past. The collection was named Biblioteca Museo teatrale del Burcardo after the late-Gothic building in Via del Sudario, built by Bishop Johannes Burchardt, in which it was housed for over eighty years. Since 2011, the Library has moved to the General Management, with public access at Viale della Letteratura 24. As of February 2017, the materials previously stored and exhibited at the Theatre Museum in Via del Sudario have also been moved to the General Management, where they can be partly consulted. Costumes, paintings, stage accessories and other significant documents will be displayed in the reading room and in the adjacent rooms.