The Seminary Palace is a landmark on the right bank of Ljubljana. It is located near the Bishop's Palace and very close to St Nicholas Cathedral. The Old Town has long been a pedestrian zone where you can leisurely admire all its architectural masterpieces, for which Slovenia's capital is often referred to as Prague in miniature. Among the beautiful European castles, thanks to which Ljubljana received this flattering epithet, is the Seminary Palace.
A number of talented Italians worked on its creation in the early 18th century. The author of the project, architect Carlo Martinuzzi, created the Palace in the late Italian Baroque style. The entrance is decorated with a portal with stone reliefs created in the workshop of the famous stone master Luca Mislei. The author of the beautiful statues on the sides of the portal was the sculptor Angelo Putti. His statues have only darkened over three centuries, but this adds to their nobility. Over time, additions were added to the building, the authorship of which was retained by the Italians. This resulted in an integral baroque ensemble that fits perfectly into the architecture of the old town. The exterior decoration invariably makes the strongest impression. The interior of the Palace is no less valuable in terms of craftsmanship. The main hall is decorated with ceiling paintings by Italian painter Giulio Quaglio. These stunningly beautiful frescoes entitled "Allegory of Theology" were created in 1721. The solid oak furniture made especially for the library, which was housed in the Palace, has also survived from the 18th century.
This is Slovenia's first public library, also founded in the early 18th century. Not even counting medieval manuscripts, incunabula and numerous rarities, the library, in its Baroque interior, is in itself a jewel of Ljubljana and the whole country.
Nowadays, the library is no longer a public library, it is the property of the seminary.
