Historical notes

From the Medici to the Riccardi

The Biblioteca Riccardiana is a public state library under the jurisdiction of the Ministero della Cultura. As such, it follows the general regulations governing state public libraries, while its access conditions and service operations are determined by its internal regulations. The library specializes in the preservation, enhancement, and protection of its manuscript and rare printed collections and is housed in the historic Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

The construction of the family palace was commissioned by Cosimo the Elder to Michelozzo, who completed it between 1449 and 1450. A miniature from the Virgil Riccardianus (manuscript Ricc.492), dated around 1459, illustrates the construction phases of the palace.

Ricc. 492, c. 72r

The façade on Via Larga, now Via Cavour, featured ten round-arched mullioned windows on both the first and second floors. The banking activities took place on the ground floor, which was built from pietra forte stone and clad in rusticated ashlar. The first floor, known as the piano nobile, housed the family and served as a reception area for celebrations and gatherings. The second floor, covered in smooth ashlar, was reserved for private living quarters. The use of progressively refined stonework gave the building a lighter appearance and a sense of upward movement.

The palace was the historic residence of the Medici, rulers of Florence, until the early 16th century. In 1539, Cosimo de’ Medici, the future Grand Duke, celebrated his wedding to Eleonora of Toledo there. The following year, the couple left the palace and moved to the Palazzo della Signoria. Palazzo Medici remained in the hands of junior branches of the family until March 28, 1659, when Grand Duke Ferdinando II de’ Medici sold it to Marquis Gabriello Riccardi for 40,000 scudi.

Stamp. 11983, pp. 198-199

Mirror Gallery

Francesco Riccardi

After Gabriello’s death, Francesco Riccardi continued the restoration work and oversaw the organization of the family’s collections. These included: the Byzantine ivories collected by Riccardo Romolo, gems, medals, and bronzes, a large collection of ancient coins.
Expressly for this purpose, he had the cabinets built in Rome, which in the Gallery alternate with the splendid mirrors painted by Anton Domenico Gabbiani, Bartolomeo Bimbi and Pandolfo Reschi.

Between 1682 and 1685, Francesco had Luca Giordano paint the ceiling of the library and the vault of the gallery, which served as a splendid vestibule. The creator of the frescoes was Alessandro Segni, to whom we owe the iconography respected by the painter, who completed the work with his proverbial speed. The man of letters was inspired by the Tabulae Cebetis, an anonymous Greek poem that narrates the history of man with a complex web of symbolism and allegories (Biblioteca Riccardiana, Ricc. 25).

The library and the Luca Giordano Gallery were officially inaugurated in 1689 to celebrate the wedding of Ferdinando de’ Medici and Violante Beatrice of Bavaria.

In 1691, artists Giuseppe and Tommaso Nasini frescoed the vault of the current exhibition hall with the story of Hercules at the Crossroads, while the catalog room was decorated with the story of Jupiter defeating the Giants. The architectural frames were crafted by Francesco Sacconi.

The Riccardi Palace became a hub for grand celebrations, attended by the most prominent figures of the era. During these events, the cabinets housing the collection were opened, allowing guests to admire the library’s treasures, turning the gallery into a true cultural pilgrimage site.

The Library

Francesco personally took care of the construction of the library, worrying not only about the comfort of the environment, but also about finding employees capable of storing the books, supervising their integrity and preserving them from theft, as documented in the Riccardo manuscript on the good rules for building a ‘library’, written by an intellectual of the time, an expert librarian, at the behest of the marquis (Ricc.2112). Download the good rules here

He personally took care of the purchases, greatly increasing the patrimony thanks also to the stimulating experience gained in the many trips abroad, made between 1665 and 1669, with his great friend Alessandro Segni. The Grand Tour, which touched the most important European destinations, allowed Francesco to frequent the main courts and visit the most important public and private libraries, refining his taste.

Reading Room detail

Vincenzio Capponi

In 1669, Francesco married Cassandra Capponi, which led to a major enrichment of both the art collection and the library. The noblewoman brought with her an exceptional book collection, inherited in 1688 from her father, Vincenzio Capponi. This collection included: 249 manuscripts, over 5,000 rare printed editions.

Vincenzio Capponi, a curious and versatile intellectual, had connections with Galileo Galilei and his circle. He acquired several manuscripts by Galileo, which later became part of the Galilean collection at the Biblioteca Nazionale in the 19th century.

Marble bust of Vincenzio Capponi by G. B. Foggini – Reading Room

Francesco continued expanding the library, frequently acquiring books from notable Florentine booksellers such as Alessandro Frescobaldi, Santi Franchi, Iacopo Guiducci, Bastiano Scaletti, and Vincenzo Volpi. His passion for the library was so strong that, in his 1715 will, he ordered that all manuscripts and printed books remain permanently in their custom-designed bookshelves.

Gabriello Riccardi, the Subdean

In the 17th century, the subdean Gabriello was the primary figure responsible for expanding the collections, particularly the library. He organized the library into its current form, granting access to scholars from 1737 onwards, as evidenced by a loan register still preserved today (Ricc. 3481).

Gabriello personally acquired works and, paying close attention to the aesthetic appeal of the volumes displayed on the monumental open shelves, oversaw their binding, entrusting the task to trusted individuals. A large number of volumes purchased by the subdean were bound by Giuseppe Pagani according to the fashion and taste of the time.

His numerous acquisitions were facilitated by the privileged relationships he enjoyed, thanks to his position, with religious communities. In 1742, he purchased from the Montalve family the collection of autograph writings by Giovan Battista Fagiuoli, including the famous 27-volume diary, a veritable mine of information about Florentine life, and in 1748, from the nuns of Santa Marta, the important nucleus of Romanesque codices, many of which were large-format “atlas” volumes, splendidly illuminated. He purchased en bloc the Doni library (937 manuscripts) and nuclei of manuscripts and ancient works from the collections of important Florentine families (Strozzi, Davanzati, Salvini, Quaratesi, De Ricci). He acquired autographs of distinguished 18th-century intellectuals, including Giovanni Lami. Particularly noteworthy is the correspondence of Lorenzo Mehus, collected in 9 volumes, and the important purchase of 3,349 manuscripts and printed works, including over 1,200 annotated volumes, from the library of Anton Maria Salvini. Gabriello also purchased the codices of the humanist Nicodemo Tranchedini, while receiving as gifts the volumes of Giuseppe and Benedetto Averani.

These fragments, which bear the prestigious names of Ficino, Varchi, Pandolfini, Nesi, Adimari, and others, were never given a separate location as distinct funds within the collection, but were instead integrated into it. For this reason, unlike many public libraries where it is necessary to navigate through different funds, each with its own characteristics and perhaps its own inventory, the Riccardiana still appears today as a single collection.

After significantly expanding the collection, driven by the desire to unite the collections of all the members of the family, Gabriello also gave further impetus to the “library container.” He added to the library one of the monumental halls that had previously been part of the private apartments, the current Exhibition Hall, and in 1782 he purchased buildings, creating the last hall, the current management.

In 1786, the subdean inaugurated the halls of the library and in 1794 he united his private library with that of the family. The rearrangement, also physical, on the shelves of the new hall, which from then on would be called “Stanza I” or “Stanza de’ manoscritti”, provided for a new general ordering of the codes, divided by language, format, and subject matter. In his 1794 will, he provided for the opening of the library and museum to the public, where Florentines could “spend time” with the assistance of the librarian.

Plaque at the library entrance

From private to public library

By the mid-18th century, the financial fortune of the Riccardi family had begun to decline. Having abandoned commerce, the family’s wealth was sustained solely by their land holdings, which could no longer support their princely lifestyle. The financial downfall culminated with Vincenzio, who was declared legally incapacitated in 1804. The family’s assets were placed under the management of the bankruptcy court, and from January 1811 to 1814, auctions were held to liquidate them.

The distinguished collection of artworks, painstakingly assembled through careful and discerning choices, was completely dispersed despite testamentary restrictions, suffering the same fate as the family’s real estate holdings. Only the library, by sheer luck, remained intact in its designated location.

In 1811, during the auctioning of the Riccardi estate, a printed inventory titled “Inventario e stima della Libreria Riccardi” – Inventory and Appraisal of the Riccardi Library – was compiled. This document remains an essential reference today, serving as the only complete record of the library’s holdings at that time.

In the following years, the library faced the risk of being broken up and sold off, mirroring the tragic fate of the art collections. The crisis peaked in 1812, raising fears for the library’s survival amid legal disputes. After a series of ups and downs, the library was acquired by the state in 1815 and declared a public institution by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in a decree issued on October 9, 1815. Francesco Fontani, who had worked tirelessly to preserve its autonomy and prevent its transfer into private hands, was appointed as its librarian. His efforts ensured that the library retained its public status, in accordance with the vision of its previous owners, who had intended it to serve the public since the previous century. Luigi Rigoli, initially hired by the sub-dean Gabriello, was appointed as assistant librarian and took on the task of cataloging the manuscripts.

Later, when attempts were made to merge the library with the Marucelliana, Rigoli submitted a petition to the Grand Duke on January 18, 1819, successfully securing its independence. In 1876, the Riccardiana was placed under the administration of the director of the Biblioteca Nazionale, a relationship that lasted until 1884. In 1898, it was transferred to the administrative oversight of the Biblioteca Laurenziana.

After being closed to the public following World War I, the library reopened in 1942. Since then, it has maintained its independent status, preserving its historical charm while adapting to its modern role.

Management Hall 1942

New acquisitions

In the 19th century, the library’s holdings continued to be enriched by purchases and donations: 134 volumes of valuable miscellanies by Giuseppe Del Rosso, in 1831; 55 volumes of manuscripts by Mario Pieri together with his correspondence, in 1852; the rich bequest of political papers by Abramo Basevi, in 1873, including 32 volumes of newspapers; the political and literary correspondence of Leopoldo Galeotti, bequeathed in his will in 1879; 24 volumes of ‘literary and bibliographical volumes’ by Mehus (Ricc. 3869-3892), formerly belonging to Prince Baldassarre Buoncompagni, purchased in 1899.

More recent additions include the donation of the entire collection of letters and volumes by Renato Fucini, the collection of volumes on the history of art of the Society of the History of Miniature and Melania Ceccanti, and the archive of the Sorelle Chiostri, the famous Florentine atelier that was the point of excellence of Tuscan craftsmanship in that happy season that made Florence the capital of fashion in the 1950s.

Dress by Sorelle Chiostri

English translation by Megan Krynen (University of Mississippi – ISI Florence) and Elsa Vellone (University of Rochester – ISI Florence).