The Public Library of the Archiginnasio has been located inside the Palace of the Archiginnasio in Bologna since 1838 when a section of the building was dedicated to preserving the books from monasteries that were forced to close following orders by Napoleon. The library is the largest in Emilia-Romagna and boasts over 850.000 volumes, 8.500 manuscripts and 2.500 incunabula. All of the collections deal with various topics regarding the spiritual, cultural, civil and social history of Bologna.