In 2005, the Angelica Library was approached by Marcello Cardone (1927-2009) for a bequest of just over 800 works belonging to his family. The collection consists largely of literature books, in various languages, mostly published between the 19th and 20th centuries.

Several members of the Cardone family had held important positions on behalf of the House of Savoy in Turin and Florence and then in Rome at the time of the birth of the unified state.

His cultural background included studies of a historical-literary and scientific nature. An anti-fascist, he participated in the partisan struggle by creating the Stalin Brigade after 8 September, which operated between Umbria and Marche. In 1978 he was among the initiators of the reconstruction of the Italian Trade Union, the anarchists’ union.

In Luciana Coen (1908-1991) Marcello Cardone found not only a wife, but also a companion in social and civil struggles. A social worker, he devoted himself to his work with sincere participation on behalf of the innocent and despised in society. His diary, The Right to Live, describes his forty-four-year struggle within the various welfare facilities in Rome and is a denunciation of how social prejudices and administrative immobility can deprive the weakest human beings of their rights.

Despite the troubled events that led to its current configuration, the Fund has its own identity and unity, and the works it contains can be defined as the most intimate readings, those that contributed not only to forming the knowledge but also to defining the aspirations and perceptions of the protagonists of this family history of the Roman middle class. Alongside works of philosophy, there is also escapist reading, books on Italian literature as well as French, English and American literature. Italian remains the language most present, with 463 works out of a total of 802, but there is no lack of texts in various languages in non-literary fields as well.