The manuscript section of the library, made up of 1,381 volumes (among which 535 are Medieval) is outstanding. The codes of the religious orders of the whole district were moved here, following the suppression of various orders during the Habsurg Empire and the Napoleonic period. Also, the section houses 385 precious codes from the San Benedetto in Polirone Abbey, a monastery founded and patronized by the Canossa (Tedaldo di Canossa, 1007). The scriptorium of Polirone was a place of creation already at the time, and production here continued for centuries despite the periods of crisis.Not much is left of the collection of codices belonging to the Gonzaga family, though the ones kept here are remarkable; also interesting are the works which once belonged to other noble families from Mantua. In addition, the collection of the library also includes a series of letters from various periods and some important works, such as the autograph manuscript of Confessioni di un Italiano, by Ippolito Nievo (Padova 1831, Tyrrhenian Sea 1861).