Florence has a number of interesting col lections, the oldest and most important being the Mediceo-Laurenziana housed in the Uffizzi Palace. It was formed from the collections, that of Lorenzo the Magnificent and the one gathered by Niccolo Niccoli and Cosimo. Ed ward Edwards, 'Memoirs of Libraries,) Vol. 2, p. 369, calls this °The noblest monument which the Medicis have left of the glory of their line It has suffered many losses, par ticularly during the regime of Savonarola, yet it still remains one of the most interesting collections of bibliographic treasures in the world. Second only to the Vittori Emanuele at Rome is the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence. This has developed from the amalgamation of the private collections of the famous bibliographer Magliabechi and the Bib lioteca Palatine, formerly the library of the grand dukes of Tuscany and housed in the Pitti Palace. Magliabechi was librarian of the ducal library for many years during which time he gathered his own splendid collection, be queathing it to the Grand Duke in 1714. Many valuable additions have been made to these col lections, among them Poggi and Reviczky li braries. The library is very rich in Italian history and literature. Manuscripts of Machia velli and of Galileo, Torricelli, Viviana and other early Italian scientists are among the collections. A new building, appropriated for in 1902, has been erected on the Corso dei Tintori, near Santa Croce. Its collections now number about 600,000 volumes, 900,000 pam phlets and manuscripts including many prior to the 11th century. Others of special interest are those of Boccaccio and Cellini. Among other Florentine libraries are the Biblioteca Riccardiana, rich in Italian literature, and the Biblioteca Marucelliana, remarkable for its collection of Italian art. The Biblioteca Marciana (library of Saint Mark's) is the most important one in Venice, and if the tradi tion that Petrarch founded it in 1362 is correct it is the oldest. At any rate books from Petrarch's collections were discovered by Tomasini. The present collection is based upon the gift of manuscripts and codices brought by Cardinal Bessarione from Constantinople and presented to Saint Mark in 1468. Many addi tions have been made from the collections of religious institutions and by private gift. The library is ptrticularly rich in Venetian history and early geography and travel. It was first housed in the Libreria del Sansovino, from which it was transferred in 1812 to the Palazzo Ducale and in 1904 to the Palazzo della Zecca, or The Mint. Naples has a number of libraries, the most important being the Biblioteca Nazion ale, opened in 1804. It originated in the library of Cardinal Seripando, to which large additions have been made, particularly in 1848 from monastic collections. It contains 395,439 vol
umes, 221,859 pamphlets, 4,218 incunabula, 7,997 manuscripts, and is very rich in scientific litera ture, particularly the publications of learned societies. The Biblioteca Brancacciano (115,000 vols.) was founded by Cardinal Brancaccio in 1690. Balogne, long famous as a centre of learning, has an excellent library, the Biblioteca Comunale, founded 1801 (313,133 vols.), which is especially rich in Orientalia, as has Padua (Museo Civico, founded 1778, 230,000 vols.) and Modena, whose library, the Bib lioteca Estense, is based upon the collections of the famous Este family, which were transferred from Ferrara to Modena by Cesare d'Este in 1598. It now forms the Biblioteca Estense Universitaria. Other large collections are at Genoa, Pavia, Lucca, Palermo, Perugia, Pisa, Verona and Vicenza. The library at Messina was destroyed by the earthquake of 1908, but reconstituted in 1910.
University Libraries.— The universities of Italy are very ancient and the majority possess excellent collections of books. One of the oldest of these, Bologna, doubtless had some type of a library at an early date, yet the founding of its present collection is assigned to 1605 at which time the naturalist Aldrovandi bequeathed his collection of 3,800 volumes and 350 manuscripts to the university. Great addi tions were made by gifts from Count Luigi Marsili (1712), Mezzofanti, the famous biblio phile and linguist, and others. The collections now number 255,000 volumes, 880 incunabula, 5,000 manuscripts. The University of Padua, another early foundation, has a library of 300, 000 volumes and Pisa one of 203,000 volumes. The Biblioteca Universitaria of Naples is based on a collection established by Joachim Murat in 1812. This was transferred to the unversity and opened to the public in 1849. It contains a number of monastic collections and is rich in medical and scientific works. Other import ant collections are at the universities of Pisa, Pavia, Genoa and Turin.
Special Libraries.— There are a number of important special libraries in Italy, the majority being in Rome. Among these are Law, etc.: The Biblioteca dei Deputati (133,700 vols.), Biblioteca del Senato (100,000 vols.) ; Mili tary Science: Biblioteca Militare Centrale (70, 000 vols.) ; • Music: Biblioteca Musicale (115, 000 vols.) Agriculture: Institute Interna tional d'Agriculture (60,000 vols.). Con sult (Le biblioteche governative del regno d'Italia) (Rome 1893); 'Le biblioteche popolari in Italia, relazione al Ministro della Pubblico Instruzione) (Rome 1893); Fabietti, 'Manuale per le biblioteche popolari) (Milano) • 'Sta tistica della biblioteche) (Rome 1893-96).