The Ancient Library in the Bishop’s Seminary of Padua preserves and provides access to a rich heritage of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts (224 in Latin, along with some in Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic), printed books (including 483 incunabula), and epistolary and archival documents. It also features an important collection of ancient prints (the Marquis Federico Manfredini Collection) and a collection of Roman coins (the Giovan Battista Sartori-Canova Collection).

Established a few years after the conclusion of the Council of Trent (1563), the seminary was relocated in 1670 by Cardinal Gregorio Barbarigo to the former seat of the Canons of Santa Maria in Vanzo. This location continues to serve as the formation center for future presbyters of the Diocese of Padua. Significant building work occurred in the latter half of the eighteenth century and the early twentieth century. In 2008, three years after the establishment of the Theological Faculty of Triveneto, the Modern Section of the Library was moved to the premises adjacent to the Faculty’s headquarters. The collections of the Ancient Section are housed in three eighteenth-century rooms on the second floor of the west side of the Seminary building.