When I was a child and I watched the Beauty and the Beast, my favorite scene was the one set in the incredible library of the enchanted palace. But that was an animated film; the libraries photographed by Massimo Listri are real and surprisingly beautiful. Photography is a visual document of what surrounds us, while books are written documents, I like to think that these forms of documentation are cited among themselves.

Each room captured by Listri is rich in history, breathtaking suggestions, and architectures, a real dream for all beauty lovers. The entire collection of images can be found in the artist’s book entirely dedicated to libraries and published by Taschen, which you can find here. Quoting The New York Times:

“There was a time when extravagant cathedrals were created just to house books and manuscripts. Listri’s large-format photographs document European libraries built between the 15th and the 19th century…”

Collecting beauty and collecting, in general, has always been a great passion and need for humanity, who tends to the sublime without ever really reaching it. To learn more you can visit the artist’s website.