At Villa Welsperg, the “House of the Park”, there is a library dedicated to Dino Buzzati who was an avid frequenter and patron of the mountains of Val Canali. It contains over 4,700 books, with a complete section dedicated to the writer. There are also 30 specialised magazines focusing on the environment and gardening that can be browsed there.
There are various thematic sections that relate to the Fauna and Flora, Archaeology, Astronomy, Scientific papers, Ecology and Environmental Education; there are also texts relating to the Legal and regulatory framework of the Protected Areas but also a vast section dedicated to stories and legends and a section of children’s books with a naturalistic theme.
One can also browse a vast collection of publications concerning, in addition to the protected area, also the Alps and mountains in general, under the scientific, literary, anthropological and ethnographic aspects.
The library also contains the archives of the “Angelo Orsingher Donation”: photographs, books, manuscripts and cartographies that can be browsed and which have been collected in a life of historical research in San Martino di Castrozza. A significant collection of rare antique volumes, some in the original language and dated from 1862, including travel diaries of the British and German explorers and mountaineers in the Primiero Valley, the Dolomites and the Alps in general.
Bibliobimbi
Within the library there is also a space, charming and friendly, dedicated exclusively to the little ones. Here you can find books dedicated to stories, legends and tales, and of course publications tied to nature. There are about
550 books present in this space, specifically for children and teens. The colourful furniture of this space has been created by the workers of the Park.
Book lending service
The Library allows its books to be borrowed. It is open all year round from 9:00 am to
12:30 pm and from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm.
In summer the library is also open on Sundays and public holidays. tel.+39 0439-64854; e-mail:
Associazione Internazionale Dino Buzzati
The Physioteca
In the so-called Physioteca (from the Greek physis = nature; and theke – theca = collection) there are:
a “Xiloteca”: a collection of wood from almost all the trees living in Trentino Each “book” describes an arboreal species, made and carved in its wood with the back covered by the bark;
a “Fruticoteca”: it is a collection of shrubs; it contains plant samples of the species living in the Park;
a “Lichenoteca”: it is a collection of the Park’s lichens. Recent studies within the Park have led to the drafting of a checklist with over 900 species, 29 of which are included in the red list of lichens in Italy because they are considered to be at risk of extinction, rare or simply vulnerable;
a “Litoteca”: it is a collection of “books” that are hand-cut and sculpted from rocks collected in the Park. The front cover of each book has been polished, the spine is smooth, while the back cover is rough to show the different aspects of the rock;
a “Sementoteca”: it is a collection of seeds from the old varieties of cultivated plants;
a “Pteroteca”: it is a collection of feathers of the birds present in the Park and a “Nidoteca”, a collection of nests;
a “Fossiloteca”: it is a collection of some fossils typical of the Dolomitic area.
