Library Hall
Sala di lettura o di studio
The structure of the Sala di lettura o di studio has remained intact as desired by Francesco Riccardi, who had personally taken care of the shelves and had entrusted the decoration in stucco and gilded wood to the skill of Giovan Battista Foggini. For the supply and installation of the entire wooden structure ‘with the display of walnut beards and inside spruce’, then polished with wax, the marquis turned to two Florentine craftsmen, Tommaso and Giuseppe Stecchi. In the room, one can still admire the two rows of shelves with ‘eighteen doors with wire mesh frames’ and ‘two well-shaped ladders enclosed in the guise of a wardrobe’ that allow access to the galleries.
The iconographic programme of the sala’s fresco by Luca Giordano was designed by Alessandro Segni especially for the library.
Discover the fresco
Up high, among the clouds, a woman dressed in shining white clothes (Divine Wisdom) holds a scepter and a globe, which symbolize her ruling over the whole universe. On her head the flames of the Holy Trinity are burning; at her feet lies a naked young woman (Truth), who receives light from looking straight at her.
The armored young man symbolizes human intellect, once free from the shackles of ignorance (here alluded to by the rope). Maths (or Prudence, according to Lami) sheds light on him through her mirror, thus meaning that knowledge is not born from within, but must be gained by studying. Theology stretches out one hand at him while pointing to God with the other. Meanwhile, Philosophy attaches wings to his shoulders. This image should be compared with MS. Ricc. 2778, f. 360v.
Two putti (i.e., small angels) hold an inscription bearing an appropriate verse by Petrarch: “Raising our human intellect heavenward”. Another two putti distil herbs and flowers, thus showing that our mind (by understanding the essence of God’s creation) manages to attain divinity (which is invisible) through what is visible. The rocky landscape in the background alludes to the difficulties that we must overcome on the path to knowledge.
After the realisation of the fresco, the decoration of the walls was undertaken according to the instructions of Giovanni Battista Foggini; splendid stucco work was carried out by the Ciceri brothers and Anton Francesco Andreozzi, and gilding by Domenico Gori. The scrolls contain verses by Torquato Tasso and Dante Alighieri.
Some pictures of scrolls:
The two scrolls flanking the fresco bear the following inscriptions (verses inspired by Italian poet Torquato Tasso):
FORSE QVI FIA CH’IL CORE INFRA QUESTE OMBRE
DEL SVO PESO MORTAL PARTE DISGOMBRE
CERTA VERRANNE DE TAL PARTE AITA,
CH’ALL’ALMA DONI E LIBERTATE E VITA
It may thus happen that beneath these shades
The heart puts down some of its mortal cares.
If so, help from up above shall come down to thee,
such as to make your soul full of life and free.
The scrolls in the vault (at the two extremes of the fresco) bear verses inspired by Dante:
DA LEI NE VIEN L’ANIMOSO PENSIERO
CHE QVEL, CH’IL SEGVE AL SOMMO BEN N’INVIA
E AL CIEL LO SCORGE PER DRITTO SENTIERO
QVINCI E’ SAPIENZA IN CH’E’ TANTO AVVANTAGGIO,
CHE CIASCVN BEN, CHE GIV TRA NOI TRALVCE
DA LEI NE VIENE, E DEL SVO LVME E’ VN RAGGIO
From her an invigorating thought descends
That takes its followers to the highest good,
Heaven bound, up a path that has no bends.
Here is Hope, whose great worth one may say
Is that each good that shines on earth
Comes from her and of her light is just a ray.
At the end of the room is the quartered Riccardi – Capponi coat of arms, commemorating Francesco’s wedding to Cassandra Capponi in 1669. On the opposite wall, exactly opposite, again by Foggini, is the marble bust of Vincenzio Capponi.
Sala di esposizione
In 1786, at the behest of Gabriello Riccardi, the monumental rooms that housed the collections were enlarged, adding the current Sala di esposizione and Sala di direzione.
The realisation of the fresco in the Sala di esposizione is due to Giuseppe and Tommaso Nasini, painters from Castel del Piano on Monte Amiata, who depicted “Hercules at the Crossroads” on the great vault in 1691.
Discover the fresco
In 1691, Giuseppe and Tommaso Nasini painted what is now the vault of the exhibition hall in the library. It depicts the story of Hercules at the crossroads, the choice that the young hero must make between the easy way to pleasure and the hard one to virtue. An oval frame encloses this complex narrative, rich in symbolic figures. The fresco reveals the intervention of several hands, all of which performed their tasks successfully. Nevertheless, the figure of Hercules reveals some discrepancies and lack of proportion, probably due to different and changing requests from the Riccardi’s. The end result is very similar to the ancient statue of Mars in the palace’s courtyard, which was eventually topped with the head of Cosimo Riccardi (Francesco’s father) to pursue an overt and celebratory intent.
The four medallions placed at the corners of Francesco Sacconi’s elegant architectonic frame allude to the heroic deeds from Hercules’ Twelve Labors. More precisely, they refer to the golden apples of the Hesperides, the fight against Antaeus, the Nemean lion, and (in very poor condition) an episode that is most likely to be identified with the Lernaean hydra. The Riccardi family also owned four low-reliefs (the work of a skillful sixteenth-century artist), which were originally part of their collection in Valfonda before being transferred to the new palace.
In the picture below, the Florentine painter Tito Lessi reproduces from life, not only the structures of the bookcases, but also the furnishings, such as tables and chairs, identical to those documented in the various reports that can be consulted in the library archives.
The only concession to the imagination is the chronological placement of these scholars in the middle of the 18th century, as revealed by the accuracy of their clothing and hairstyles with their showy wigs.
About Tito Lessi and“The Bibliophiles”...
Florentine painter Tito Lessi (Florence, 1858 – 1917) displayed photographic precision in painting the reading rooms and the exhibition hall of the Riccardiana Library. In doing so, he pictured groups of scholars caught in animated debates. Today, these paintings (known as “The Bibliophiles”) can only be appreciated through photographs preserved in the library and the many copies available on the Internet, as the originals soon became part of collections overseas. Rumor has it that one of them, instead, was lost in the bombings that destroyed the Florence bridges during WWII. Apparently, it was property of the “Accademia della Colombaria”, whose building near the Ponte Vecchio was severely damaged under those tremendous circumstances.
These two paintings put the library in center stage – so to speak – during its heyday, when (having already been reorganized as per subdeacon Gabriello’s plan) it hosted meetings of scholars who could rely on its precious and carefully preserved materials for their research and discussions.
Nowadays, the Internet offers various images from Tito Lessi’s paintings, all of which are preserved in private collections. One of them shows a librarian carrying volumes to the directors’ office (which one can easily recognize through the open door). The volumes must have been used already and are now ready to be reshelved. This detail is the only difference one can notice in comparison with another ‘version’ of the same subject (of which a postcard can still be seen at the Riccardiana today); according to tradition, that represents the painting which was lost in WWII. Although all of these paintings show people wearing XVIII-century clothes, the reality they describe is that of the late XIX century, when the painter saw these places and painted them from life in an extremely accurate and meticulous way.
Sala di direzione
The Sala di direzione, added in 1786, is characterised by a pavilion vault with floral stucco decorations in neoclassical style. In the corners, four cameos in imitation semiprecious stones hold portraits of philosophers and poets of Greek and Roman antiquity, Cicero, Homer, Virgil and Plato, alluding to the theme of classical culture.
A coeval perimeter wooden shelving unit, with faux-marble and faux-wood furnishings with gilded mouldings, was built to house the family’s manuscripts. To ascend to the galleries, the elegant artifice of revolving shelves was used, from which access was gained to a wooden staircase located behind the current direction. The unity of the room in its decorations and furnishings creates a fascinating neoclassical environment dedicated to Minerva and the Muses, as stated in the inscription below the window, which documents the date of its completion.
English translation by Megan Krynen (University of Mississippi – ISI Florence) and Elsa Vellone (University of Rochester – ISI Florence).