The Eurasian Theater Library is a special collection located in the Carmine monastery, a 15th Century building in the heart of the Upper Town, the historic centre of Bergamo.
Since 1996 it has been home of the Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo, which donated the collection to our University.
The name Eurasian Theater Library was chosen to recall the contamination between the European theater and the great classical tradition of Asian theater: Eurasian theater is a multicultural and innovative art, based on Eastern and Western theatrical techniques.
The library is composed of two main collections: one belonging to Renzo Vescovi, founder of Teatro Tascabile di Bergamo in the Seventies, and one belonging to Nicola Savarese, Professor of theater history. Both collections have been catalogued by the Humanities library with the help of students and trainees.
This collection counts 1.300 books, concerning Eastern and Western theater, Eastern philosophy and spirituality. Renzo Vescovi was a director, an acting teacher and an author of essays. He wrote about the education and social status of actors in Eastern and Western traditions and the relationship between theater and dance.
In this collection, there are rare and interesting books on Odin Teatret, founded by Eugenio Barba, who was a pupil and friend of the Polish director Jerzy Grotowski. Strictly tied to Vescovi's research are also the books on Indian classic theater in Bharata Natyam, Odissi, Kathakali styles and the ones about clown art and popular music and songs.
It counts 2.400 books about Eastern, Western and ancient theater.
Nicola Savarese was a member of the International School of Theatre Anthropology founded by Eugenio Barba. He was professor of Theater History at the Universities of Rome La Sapienza, Kyodai (Kyoto), UQAM (Canada), Paris Sorbonne IV, Bologna, Lecce and Roma 3. He wasn't only a theorist, but he combined research with performance. He traveled a lot through Asia and he lived in Japan for more than two years.
He has been a visiting professor at the Getty Research Institute (Los Angeles), and editor of the journals Teatro e Storia and Dionysus ex Machina.
He wrote many works on the relationship between Eastern and Western theater including Il Teatro Eurasiatico (Wroclaw 2010), The Secret Art of the Performer with Eugenio Barba, Dizionario di antropologia teatrale (Londra-New York 1991).
You can search and browse the Eurasian Theater Library in BiGSearch or go to the Eurasian theater library catalog.
Books are for library use only.
The library opens by appointment only.