The building that nowadays houses the National Public Records of Cremona arose at the beginning of the 20th century with a very different purpose from the present-day one: it came into being as the headquarters of the Istituto Manini lyceum, a religious school founded in 1837 by initiative of Cremonese priest Ferdinando Manini, to help and instruct needy young people. The building constructed following the project of engineer Signori was doubtless a novelty for its intended use: albeit its eclectic style compared with the usual late 19th century architectural conventions, it is characterised by large windows and spacious, well-lighted corridors. The building housed the college up to the end of the Seventies, when it was transformed while respecting its original structure, into the centre for the National Archives, transferred here in 1979.