Cultural Institute Department
LIBRARY AND ARCHIVE
The Deaf Institute of Turin has always maintained a well-stocked library specialized in deafness, established already in the early years of the Institute’s foundation, primarily as a service for the teaching staff of the Institute’s schools.
The library has always been kept up to date, as evidenced by some cataloging attempts made in the past; in this way, its book collection has gradually been enriched with documents, including course handouts, special education manuals, audiology essays, and all kinds of publications related to deafness.
In 1999, an initial reorganization of volumes and journals was started, also concentrating in a single room the books that had been stored in various parts of the Institute.
From a preliminary analysis of the preserved materials, the great richness and importance of the book collection immediately emerged, particularly regarding the oldest part of the library.
The materials preserved mainly consist of:
- Essays and manuals on pedagogy and rehabilitation of the deaf;
- Specialized journals and newspapers, both discontinued and currently published, counting over one hundred periodical titles;
- Specific articles taken from non-specialized journals and newspapers;
- Theses and dissertations on deafness;
- Sign language dictionaries, including many foreign ones;
- Laws, regulations, and circulars on disability;
- Various paper materials such as flyers, course announcements, conference notices, advertisements for hearing aids;
- Historical archive.
Contact person: Cinzia Anastasia
Contact: biblioteca@istitutosorditorino.org
Identification code: IT-T01002
"PAOLO BASSO" MUSEUM
"Paolo Basso" Cultural Center on Deaf
The Deaf Institute of Turin, with its main headquarters in Pianezza (Viale San Pancrazio 65), houses a small historical museum. This space collects equipment and teaching tools used until the 1960s for the education of deaf children, documenting the learning techniques employed in the past.
The Institute is located in a campus-style complex (library, theater, classrooms, park).
It hosts a historical collection — the small internal museum — with over 400 items, statues, paintings, as well as a library with more than 3,000 volumes, and a historical and photographic archive.
- Visits are available by appointment.
- Turin (former historic headquarters at Via Assarotti 12): there is currently no museum open to visitors here; the building was sold in 1965 and no longer contains exhibitions managed by the Foundation.
If you are looking for a public museum, the Institute has a small historical collection but it is not a large-scale museum exhibition like those found in the city. Visits are likely possible by appointment, especially for researchers or enthusiasts. To learn more or to book a visit, we recommend contacting the Institute directly.
Contact persons: Enrico Dolza and Nicola Della Maggiora
Email: direzione@istitutosorditorino.org and academy@istitutosorditorino.org
Department Director: Enrico Dolza
Contact: direzione@istitutosorditorino.org