Libraries are sacred places.
When you venture outside your home, stop scrolling through Twitter, and walk through the doors of a library something magical happens.
It’s so quiet, so peaceful. You can smell the pages of old books. You nestle into a cosy seat, pick a book that takes your fancy, and forget about everything going on outside those walls.
A library is the ultimate escape – from the noise and bustle of the outside world, into a place of peace and quiet, into wherever your book takes you.
Oh, and so many of them are absolutely stunning.
As they should be, when we’re talking about places that honour knowledge, art, and creative thought.
To pay tribute to the magic of libraries, Italian photographer Massimo Listri has travelled around the world capturing the beautiful pieces where books spend their time.
The resulting book, Temples of Knowledge, is published by Taschen and is now available to order.
Take a peek at some of the most awe-inspiring libraries inside those pages.
Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Biblioteca Joanina, Coimbria, Portugal
Trinity College Library, Dublin, Ireland
Biblioteca do Convento de Mafra, Mafra, Portugal
Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, Paris, France
Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome, Italy
Stiftsbibliothek Sankt Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Stiftsbibliothek Admont, Admont, Austria
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