At the Library, we periodically set up a “themed display” showcasing books and documents from our collection that are linked to a particular theme or anniversary. For June 2026, we have chosen the “Moon bet”.

The Moon has always held a fascination for mankind, inspiring myths, legends and tales.

In literature, we have many examples of imaginary journeys to the Moon: that of Astolfo to recover Orlando’s sanity (Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso); Cyrano’s journey to reach it with a belt of vials filled with dew to prove that it is a planet in its own right and inhabited (Cyrano de Bergerac, The Other World or States and Empires of the Moon); that of Hans Pfaall, who wishes to leave Earth to live  on the Moon (Edgar Allan Poe, The Incomparable Adventure of a Certain  Hans Pfaall); and finally, that of Nicholl, Barbicane and Michel Ardan  (Jules Verne, From the Earth to the Moon).

More than fifty years after the Apollo lunar missions, with the success of the Artemis programme, the Moon has once again become a target for space agencies.

Through a selection of texts, we present how the Moon was perceived in the past, what the first attempts at a Moon landing were, and what the Apollo programme enabled us to discover.

edited by Serena Musante and Roberta Scordamaglia - CAeB

The list of books that were displayed in the themed showcase:

Physics and astronomy of the moon / edited by Zdenek Kopal
Assalto alla luna. America e Russia in lotta per la conquista dell'universo / Troebst, Cord-Christian
Scommessa sulla luna / Ducrocq, Albert
Somnium ovvero opera postuma sull'astronomia lunare / Johannes Kepler ; a cura di Edward Rosen ; introduzione di Giovanni Godoli ; traduzione di Antonio Luigi Merlani
The moon : proceedings / edited by Zden♭ek Kopal and Zdenka Kadla Mikhailov