10 Years of Pirelli Libraries
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, Memoirs of Hadrian)
A decade has gone by since the company library opened at Pirelli’s headquarters in Milano Bicocca. A second library was opened at the Bollate plant, also in November 2016, joining the one already active at the Industrial Centre in Settimo Torinese.
Yet the history of the Pirelli libraries goes much further back. In the late nineteenth century, Giovanni Battista Pirelli began gathering technical books and journals. What started as a private collection steadily grew and eventually became part of the Pirelli scientific and technical library. Today, around 16,000 volumes devoted to rubber and cable technology are preserved at the Pirelli Foundation. Alongside them stands the Foundation’s library, with more than 2,000 titles ranging from company history and corporate communication to art, design and sport. During the twentieth century, this cultural impulse took a new form as corporate libraries began to take shape. In 1928, the first library for employees opened as a circulating collection of 800 volumes for members of the Dopolavoro Aziende Pirelli, the company’s recreational club. In 1957, a further library was established at Viale Sarca 183. It now houses around 11,000 volumes.
The spirit of this long tradition has lasted to this day. Pirelli’s libraries are conceived as living spaces, open and dynamic. They are part of the company’s corporate welfare system and an important investment in the intellectual growth of its people. Ten years on, the Bicocca Library offers more than 8,500 books. It has over 700 members and manages nearly 3,000 loans and renewals each year. Pirelli was also the first company to collaborate with the City of Milan to include its Bicocca library in the Sistema Bibliotecario Milanese, the city’s library circuit. Employees can therefore draw on an even wider catalogue of books, audiobooks, e-books, newspapers and magazines.
In 2026, the Pirelli Foundation will celebrate this milestone with a programme of events for employees and the wider public. There will be meetings with authors, events for young people, institutional conferences, and digital communication initiatives. To stay informed, continue to follow fondazionepirelli.org and the Pirelli Foundation’s social media channels.
If you would like to find out more about the history of the Pirelli libraries, you will find further accounts and videos in the “Libraries” section.
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, Memoirs of Hadrian)
A decade has gone by since the company library opened at Pirelli’s headquarters in Milano Bicocca. A second library was opened at the Bollate plant, also in November 2016, joining the one already active at the Industrial Centre in Settimo Torinese.
Yet the history of the Pirelli libraries goes much further back. In the late nineteenth century, Giovanni Battista Pirelli began gathering technical books and journals. What started as a private collection steadily grew and eventually became part of the Pirelli scientific and technical library. Today, around 16,000 volumes devoted to rubber and cable technology are preserved at the Pirelli Foundation. Alongside them stands the Foundation’s library, with more than 2,000 titles ranging from company history and corporate communication to art, design and sport. During the twentieth century, this cultural impulse took a new form as corporate libraries began to take shape. In 1928, the first library for employees opened as a circulating collection of 800 volumes for members of the Dopolavoro Aziende Pirelli, the company’s recreational club. In 1957, a further library was established at Viale Sarca 183. It now houses around 11,000 volumes.
The spirit of this long tradition has lasted to this day. Pirelli’s libraries are conceived as living spaces, open and dynamic. They are part of the company’s corporate welfare system and an important investment in the intellectual growth of its people. Ten years on, the Bicocca Library offers more than 8,500 books. It has over 700 members and manages nearly 3,000 loans and renewals each year. Pirelli was also the first company to collaborate with the City of Milan to include its Bicocca library in the Sistema Bibliotecario Milanese, the city’s library circuit. Employees can therefore draw on an even wider catalogue of books, audiobooks, e-books, newspapers and magazines.
In 2026, the Pirelli Foundation will celebrate this milestone with a programme of events for employees and the wider public. There will be meetings with authors, events for young people, institutional conferences, and digital communication initiatives. To stay informed, continue to follow fondazionepirelli.org and the Pirelli Foundation’s social media channels.
If you would like to find out more about the history of the Pirelli libraries, you will find further accounts and videos in the “Libraries” section.