National Central Library (Florence)

43°46′01″N 11°15′44″E / 43.76708130°N 11.26234790°E / 43.76708130; 11.26234790LocationFlorence, ItalyTypePublic, national libraryEstablished1714 (310 years ago) (1714)CollectionSize6,000,000 books, 2,689,672 pamphlets, 1,000,000+ autographs, 120,000 magazines, 29,000 16th century editions, 25,000 manuscripts and 4,000 Incunabula.Access and useAccess requirementsOpen to anyoneOther informationDirectorLuca BellingeriWebsitewww.bncf.firenze.sbn.it

The National Central Library of Florence (Italian: Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, BNCF) is a public national library in Florence, the largest in Italy and one of the most important in Europe, one of the two central libraries of Italy, along with the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma.

History

The library was founded in 1714 when scholar Antonio Magliabechi bequeathed his entire collection of books, encompassing approximately 30,000 volumes, to the city of Florence. By 1743, it was required that a copy of every work published in Tuscany be submitted to the library. Originally known as the Magliabechiana, the library was opened to the public in 1747. Its holdings were combined with those of the Biblioteca Palatina Lorenese in 1861, and by 1885, the library had been renamed as the National Central Library of Florence, or the BNCF. Since 1870, the library has collected copies of all Italian publications.

Since 1935, the collections have been housed in a building designed by Cesare Bazzani and V. Mazzei, located along the Arno River in the quarter of Santa Croce. Before this, they were found in various rooms belonging to the Uffizi Gallery.

The National Library System (SBN), located in the BNCF, is responsible for the automation of library services and the indexing of national holdings.

A major flood of the Arno River in 1966 damaged nearly one-third of the library's holdings, most notably its periodicals and Palatine and Magliabechi collections.^[1] The Restoration Center was subsequently established and may be credited with saving many of these priceless artifacts. However, much work remains to be done and some items are forever lost.^[2]

Thesaurus

Museums, galleries
and palacesReligious sites

Basilicas	Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore S Croce Baroncelli Chapel Pazzi Chapel S Lorenzo Medici Chapels S Maria Novella Tornabuoni Chapel SS Annunziata S Marco S Maria del Carmine Brancacci Chapel S Miniato al Monte S Spirito S Trinita Bartolini Salimbeni Chapel Sassetti Chapel
Churches	Badia Fiorentina Battistero di San Giovanni Certosa del Galluzzo Ognissanti Oratorio dei Vanchetoni Oratory of Gesù Pellegrino Oratory of S Thomas Aquinas Orsanmichele S Ambrogio Ss Apostoli S Felicita S Frediano in Cestello S Gaetano S Giovannino degli Scolopi S Giovannino dei Cavalieri S Jacopo sopr'Arno S Maria degli Angeli S Maria Maddalena dei Pazzi S Maria Maggiore S Martino del Vescovo S Pancrazio S Salvatore al Vescovo S Salvi Ss Simone e Giuda S Stefano al Ponte
Other	Great Synagogue

Towers (Torri)LibraryLandmarksTheatresSquaresStreetsFortsGardens and parksVillasEvents and traditions