Biblioteca Roncioniana, Special library and archive at Piazza San Francesco, Prato, Italy.
The Biblioteca Roncioniana is a special library and archive in Prato housing roughly 62,700 items including manuscripts and historical documents. The building itself displays the characteristic architecture of a traditional Italian library with its quiet reading rooms and archive spaces.
The public library was founded by the testamentary bequest of Marco Roncioni (1596-1677) and opened to the public in 1722 in the old episcopal palace on via Muzzi. A first design for a new seat was drawn up in 1715 by Anton Maria Ferri but never built; after plans by Bettini, Giovannozzi and Berardi, Alessandro Saller's 1746 project was executed on land bought from the monastery of Santa Trinita in 1751. The palazzo was completed by 1766, with changes to Saller's design by the master builders Anton Francesco Arrighi and Stefano di Rigo.
The library takes its name from a local Prato scholar and reflects the city's long tradition of gathering and preserving knowledge. Visitors find a place where readers and researchers work side by side, keeping the importance of the written word alive today.
Access to the library is available Monday through Friday in the afternoon, with staff offering services like interlibrary loans and document delivery. It is wise to check ahead about which specific collections are available, especially if looking for rare or older materials.
In the entrance hall hangs a rare glazed terracotta relief of Tobias and the Angel by Andrea della Robbia, made around 1475. It came from the convent of Santa Margherita and was moved here after Bishop Scipione de' Ricci's suppressions of religious houses. The reading room also holds two Mercator globes, terrestrial dated 1541 and celestial 1551, given by the Gherardi family.
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