Libraries Before Alexandria: Public and Private Collections of Manuscripts in Ancient Egypt

Lecture by Christian Greco, Director of the Egyptian Museum of Turin, in conversation with Carlotta Macerollo and Davide De Luca

Saturday 26 September, 9pm – ESSECI, Corte Vanna and Giulio Ferrero

Christian Greco traces the history of libraries in ancient Egypt, from the collections associated with temples and palaces to private libraries, challenging the modern distinction between archives and libraries. Through manuscripts and the figures who collected and transmitted them, a concept of the library emerges as a place for the preservation, production, and transmission of memory and knowledge.

With Fondazione Artea as part of the international project READING FORWARD – Dialogues on the library.

Christian Greco, a PhD in Egyptology, has been director of the Egyptian Museum since 2014. A former epigrapher at the Epigraphic Survey of the Oriental Institute of Chicago in Luxor and curator of the Egyptian section at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, he is co-director of the Italian-Dutch archaeological mission at Saqqara and teaches Egyptian antiquities and museum studies at several Italian and international universities. He has curated exhibition projects around the world and is the author of numerous scientific and popular publications.

How to participate

The event is free, but you must reserve your spot by clicking here (reservations open from September 16th).