About - Biblioteca Ostinata

WHERE WE ARE

Via Osti 6, Milano Quartiere Missori

Located in the center of Milan on the pedestrian street leading to Milan State University, Ostinata is situated in a historic building in the Missori district at 6 Via Osti.

Mappa

Ostinata

MISSION

Ostinata is a Library that is free and open to all.

“The founding of libraries was like constructing more public granaries, amassing reserves against a spiritual winter which by certain signs, in spite of myself, I see ahead”

Marguerite Yourcenar

ORIGINS

Ostinata is found in a historic building in the center of Milan, on the pedestrian road leading to the State University, in Via Osti 6. This short but important street connects Largo Richini to Corso di Porta Romana and it is surrounded by some of Milan’s favorite architectural jewels such as Ca’ Granda, now located at the University of Milan, the Portico Filarete and the Basilica of SS Apostles and Nazaro under the shadow of Torre Velasca.

Streets and places that were once part of the Bottonuto, a working-class neighborhood inhabited by people of various social backgrounds. Inns, taverns and stores alternated with council houses and soup kitchens in the quadrilateral included in the perimeter drawn by today's Via Velasca, Corso di Porta Romana and Piazza Missori. The library fits into this central area of Milan, with a strong identity, which has seen the succession of urban phases differing in social fabric and cultural heritage.

ORIGINI

Nella breve via che collega Largo Richini a Corso di Porta Romana, la biblioteca è situata vicino ad alcuni gioielli milanesi come la Ca’ Granda oggi sede dell’Università degli Studi di Milano, il Portico del Filarete o ancora la Basilica dei Santi Apostoli e di San Nazaro il tutto sotto l’ombra di Torre Velasca.

Vie e luoghi che facevano un tempo parte del Bottonuto, un quartiere popolare abitato da gente di varia estrazione sociale. Locande, osterie e botteghe si alteravano a case popolari e ricoveri per poveri nel quadrilatero compreso nel perimetro disegnato dalle attuali via Velasca, Corso di Porta Romana e Piazza Missori. La biblioteca si inserisce in questa zona centrale di Milano, fortemente sentita come identitaria, che ha visto il susseguirsi di fasi urbane diverse per tessuto sociale e patrimonio culturale.

Ostinata Design Study - by Studio Michele De Lucchi

Ostinata Design Study - by Studio Michele De Luchhi

Ostinata

"BOOKS ARE STUBBORN BRIDGES: THEY UNITE, THEY CREATE BONDS"

G. Avigliano

Ostinata

The place

Ostinata takes its name precisely from the street it was born in, Via Osti, and from the obstinacy of those who believe in the access to culture without barriers.

Ostinata was born in December 2022, in a venue about 18m long and an exhibition space of 100m2. Within a rectangular floor plan, the library features a longitudinal organization system of spaces with libraries arranged along the walls and twenty central seats.

In the belief that beauty is everyone's right, the project was entrusted to the care of Studio de Lucchi, AMDL Circle, Produzione Privata and to Artemide who made Ostinata a welcoming and open space.

The street-facing space was set up by Produzione Privata, AMDL CIRCLE's experimental design workshop, which designed ad hoc modular bookcases arranged flush with the wall, folding tables, nimble seating and a dedicated lighting system made by Artemide.

Thanks to the flexible furnishings, the reading room can be transformed into an ideal space for events and suitable for conviviality. Ostinata's cozy atmosphere is provided by the well-dosed light that illuminates the long rows of books stored in wooden shelves and organized into categories through a system of wooden bookends and metal dividers made to order.

Working on ad hoc furnishings and installations, it was possible to bring together: the moment of individual reading reflection and the moment of opening the space to events, social realities and neighborhood needs.

Ostinata provides a collection of 4,000 books.

The collection includes Philosophy, Literature, History, Poetry, Social Sciences volumes but also novels and comics. By presenting rare books alongside classics, Ostinata aims to help everyone discover and experience the pleasure of reading.

The exhibition of this private collection, now available to the public, stems from a desire to share a life's quest.

The research of a book collector who during the span of his life collected, cataloged and sorted more than 10,000 volumes.

The final selection is the result of a long search for balance. In order to maintain the dynamism of the collection, the volumes in the library will be cyclically exchanged for others not yet on display. Ostinata's offerings will never be final but in perpetual motion.

Le librerie di Ostinata - Disegnate da Michele De Lucchi

HEROES

For any infos call our team

LIBRARIAN

Antonio La Gamma

LIBRARIAN

Lella Decorato

LIBRARIAN

Sabina Sergio

LIBRARIAN

Sabrina Ghidini

Organize an event

Do you want to organize an event together with Ostinata? Fill out the form and send the request

Ostinata not only wants to make available to the reader the book he or she is looking for, but to propose others that will allow the reader to discover hidden affinities leading to a deeper understanding of the subject.