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The Civico Museo Biblioteca dell'Attore is one of the few Italian museums dedicated to theatre and entertainment. Born in 1966 as a sector of the Teatro Stabile di Genova to preserve theatrical material, it is now a foundation for the historical and critical study of theatre, scenic art and the conditions of the Italian actor. The rich library, specialized in theatre, cinema and show business, counts more than 44.000 volumes and 1.200 titles of Italian and foreign magazines. The archives contain about 72,000 thousand autographs, 69,000 photographs, 1,300 scripts, 4,000 sketches, figurines, caricatures, original drawings, posters, playbills, 62,000 press clippings and more than 10,000 theatre programmes. There are more than 70 libraries and archives. Visiting the Museum you can admire the studies of Gilberto Govi, Tommaso Salvini, Alessandro Fersen, Sabatino Lopez, together with other interesting memorabilia. An important collection of theatrical costumes, which belonged to Adelaide Ristori, and the Teatrino Rissone, a nineteenth-century puppet theatre, donated by the Rissone-De Sica family, are currently being refurbished.
