The Civico Museo Biblioteca dell’Attore is a foundation that, as written in its Statute, “has for target the historical and critical study of theatre, scenic art, and the practice of the actor with a particular interest in the Italian actor from the beginning of the Eighteenth Century and after.”

Our institution includes two sectors: the specialized Library, which holds more than 41,000 volumes and 1,000 Italian and foreigners reviews, and the Archive with more than 50 collections.
Most of the archives belonged to actors or to personalities of the theatre such as Adelaide Ristori and Tommaso Salvini for the Nineteenth Century;  Gastone Bosio and Pasquale De Antonis for theatre photography;  Virgilio Marchi and Gianni Polidori for stage design; Silvio d’Amico and Raul Radice as theatre critic; Vito Pandolfi and Alessandro Fersen for theatrical studies and direction; and the Italian actors Lilla Brignone, Gilberto Govi, Alberto Lionello, Ruggero Ruggeri, Paolo Stoppa, Sergio Tofano, Giorgio De Lullo and Ermete Zacconi.

Besides the Library and the Archive, the Museo Biblioteca dell’Attore holds a great quantity of theatrical materials, but in spite of its name, there is no exhibition place. The only “objects” to be seen are the The Studio of Tommaso Salvini,  The Studio of Gilberto Govi, and The Rissone Puppet Theatre.

Throughout the years, the MBA has organized and collaborated with others to create many important initiatives such as studies, exhibitions and catalogues--sometimes lending objects and memorabilia belonging to its collections.

Promoters of the Foundation are the following: Comune di Genova, Provincia di Genova, Teatro Stabile di Genova and Camera di Commercio di Genova