Florence has taken a major step towards becoming Italy’s leading centre for the study and preservation of comic books following the donation of the private archive of Gianni Bono to the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze.
The deed of donation, signed on June 9, transfers one of the most comprehensive and significant collections of Italian comics ever assembled into public ownership. Amassed over decades by Giovanni Attilio Bono, known as Gianni Bono, the publisher, historian, scholar and one of Italy’s foremost experts on comics, the archive is unrivalled for its size, breadth and rarity.
Known as the Fondo Bono, the collection comprises more than 800,000 items, including comic books, magazines, book series, scholarly publications, and Italian and international editions. It also contains original editorial material such as manuscripts, scripts, story outlines, sketches, archival documents, original artwork, posters, promotional material, fanzines and other rare documents charting the history of Italy’s most important comic book creators, characters and publishers. Much of the collection has already been documented in the Guida al fumetto italiano database.
The donation is significant for the extraordinary scope of the archive, but also because Bono chose to entrust it to a public institution under Italy’s Ministry of Culture. As the country’s national repository for Italian publishing, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze plays a central role in preserving, cataloguing and making accessible the nation’s printed heritage.
The library already holds an important collection of comics and illustrated periodicals thanks to Italy’s legal deposit system, despite suffering severe losses during Florence’s devastating 1966 flood. The arrival of the Fondo Bono will greatly expand those holdings, bringing together public and private collections in a single permanent home, while protecting the archive from fragmentation and ensuring long-term preservation and accessibility.
Library officials see the acquisition as more than the addition of a remarkable collection. It marks the beginning of a broader cultural initiative aimed at recognizing comics as an integral part of Italy’s cultural heritage. Plans include exhibitions, conferences, research programmes and educational initiatives exploring comics as both an artistic language and a cultural industry, as well as a vital record of Italy’s publishing history. The collection is expected to become an important resource for scholars, researchers, schools, universities and comic enthusiasts alike.
Through the acquisition, the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze is laying the foundations for what it hopes will become the Italian Library of Comics, a national centre dedicated to the preservation, study and promotion of comic art and publishing.
The Gianni Bono Archive will be transferred to Florence during 2026 and catalogued progressively to ensure that the collection can be consulted and fully appreciated by future generations.
