The Codices italici (Cod.ital.) 1 to 849 comprise almost 940 volumes from the 15th to the 19th century. They represent a rich source on the history of Italy and particularly the history of papacy from the 16th to the 18th century. The collection encompasses a translation into Italian of De architectura by Virtruv, which was prepared for Raffael and which bears notes and corrections by Raffael himself (Cod.ital. 37) and a Petrarca manuscript of the Frammenti e triomphi written in Bologna in 1414 (Cod.ital. 81).

The collection was shelved roughly systematically: Volumes of folio size bear the shelf marks from Cod.ital. 1 to 231, works mostly in quarto size range up to Cod.ital. 359, and in octavo size up to Cod.ital. 380. The group of shelf marks Cod.ital. 381 to 394 and 408 to 417 is related to Bavaria. The shelf marks Cod.ital. 435 to 452 belong to the Codices iconographici (Cod.icon.) today, the shelf marks with higher numbers comprise different sizes in alternating sequence.

Parts of the collection were also categorised according to provenance. Among these provenances are in particular the court libraries of Munich (i. a. the manuscripts from the collection of the Electoral Princess Adelaide of Savoy, Cod.ital. 38 - 43, 309, 310), Mannheim and Passau, as well as the library of the Theatines in Munich (i. a. 44, 308, 311) and the monastery library of Polling (i. a. 81 - 97, 325 - 327), furthermore the collections of Petrus Victorius (148 - 251), of Etienne Quatremère (482 - 486, 500) and King Otto of Greece (633 - 644). The more recent acquisitions encompass a large collection from the library of Thomas Phillipps (originating from the libraries Colonna, Falconieri, Guilford).