Centro di Cultura e Civiltà Contadina - Biblioteca Internazionale La Vigna is an institute of documentation specialised in studies concerning agriculture and wine. It is considered as the most important reference point for ampelographic research worldwide. It is situated in Vicenza in Contrà Porta Santa Croce n. 3 in Palazzo Brusarosco, then Galla. The palace is an eighteenth-century building, which was partially restored by the architect Carlo Scarpa. “Centro di Cultura e Civiltà Contadina” - Biblioteca Internazionale “La Vigna” was established by Demetrio Zaccaria. He was an entrepreneur from Vicenza who began to get interested in the field after having read a book about oenology in New York City in 1951. It took twenty years to build an international library for researchers and connoisseurs. Dictionary of Wine by Frank Schoonmaker was the first book that was bought. Demetrio Zaccaria took part in international meetings, maintained important connections worldwide and started to buy ancient and rare books. Particularly important was the meeting with André Simon in London. André Simon, who was the founder of the International Wine and Food Society, author of important books about gastronomy and wine, as well as a leading figure in the Champagne commerce worldwide, became a model to follow for Demetrio Zaccaria. In the early seventies Zaccaria left Toscolano, on the Lake Garda, where he had lived since 1958, and moved permanently to Vicenza with his collection of books. In 1980 he bought Palazzo Brusarosco which is the base of the present library. The following year, when he was seventy, he donated the palace and his collection of almost 10.000 books to the “Comune di Vicenza”. He did this because he was worried about the future of his collection and also because he tried in vain to find another settlement. He became general secretary of “Centro di Cultura e Civiltà Contadina” and of the International Library “La Vigna”. Demetrio Zaccaria died in 1993 after having received important international recognitions. More information...
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