Designed by architect Mario Botta, the building is entirely clad in Rosso Verona marble with a natural split finish. A cultural centre with its own gravitational pull and its architectural form inspired by the fossil shell, it has an internal spiral-shaped path that closes upon itself with an ancient ammonite placed at its centre: a virtual point of arrival of the Santiago de Compostela trail.
The new building, housing one of the most extraordinary and beautiful private libraries in the history of architecture, is destined to become an international study centre. The new library seems to emerge from the hill like the bow of a ship, positioned near the abbey and along the path that for centuries has connected Einsiedeln with the place of pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela.
The large staircase that lends great dynamism to the complex becomes the axis that marks the trajectory of the trail
Although modest in size, the building is not without its monumental aspects, and in its geometric shapes one can detect the architectural tone typical of the structures by Mario Botta.
