Aims and objectives
The Umberto I Library and Archive in Cairo was established by the Italian Charity Association in 1903. Its collections include 22,000 objects of historical and unique personal material, including books, records, photographs, paintings, documents, stamps, newspapers and magazines. Written in several different languages (English, Italian, French and Arabic), this varied material was donated to the library by the European communities that lived in Egypt in the 18th and 19th century. This library collection was stored in an enclosed space for many years without controlled environmental conditions. This was not suitable or ideal for the material and has led to severe deterioration. For this project, a portion of the collection has been selected for rescue, preservation and digitisation.
