Abstract

The essay outlines the philanthropic work of the Italian noblewoman and Red cross nurse Marianna Denti di Piraino, who laid the foundation of the first rural libraries in Sardinia for about twenty years from 1912. She provided local communities with books, making them available to destitute children. Her undertaking is considered within the context of other women’s charities of that time of that time. The recent finding of one of Denti’s first book stocks in a small village is also dealt with.