The History and the Building

On April 15, 1519, Pope Leo X, born Giovanni de' Medici, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, through the intercession of Monsignor Baldassare Turini, his Datary (belonging to one of the most important families of Pescia), detached the territory of Valdinievole and part of Valleriana from the Diocese of Lucca.
With the Papal Bull, he created a “Prepositura nullius”, that is, a “Diocese without a Bishop, and therefore directly dependent on the Holy See.” Administering the “Prepositura nullius” was the Chapter of Canons (Capitolo dei Canonici), which guided it until 1727 when the first Bishop was appointed.
In November 1648, the Canon treasurer Romualdo Cecchi died in Avignon while awaiting his appointment as Bishop. In his last will and testament, he left all his books and bookcases, as well as two splendid globes, to the Chapter of Canons of Pescia so they would establish a library for the "youth of Pescia", along with an annual income of 25 scudi for the purchase of new books and a life annuity of 5 scudi for the pro-tempore librarian.
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Opened in July 1666 in a location, the new library of the Pescia Chapter immediately drew the attention of the community for its collection of highly interesting volumes.
Monsignor Andrea Buovicini, rector of the "Propaganda Fide" college, sent the Canons the bull of Pope Alexander VII Chigi, which authorized the opening of the library for consultation and threatened excommunication for any thieves who stole books from it.
After the aforementioned bull, a long period of planning began for the Canons to build a new headquarters worthy of the Papal recognition.
Finally, after examining many projects, the Canons decided to build the library above the new sacristy of the Cathedral (Duomo), which was also under construction. The construction site was completed only in 1710, and immediately afterward the furnishings, with their wooden shelves, were reorganized. The vault of the hall was frescoed between April and August 1711 by the Lucchese painter Pietro Scorzini, the same who frescoed the Church of Santa Maria Corteorlandini in Lucca, better known as Santa Maria Nera (as it is an exact copy of the Holy House of Loreto).
The painter executed on the vault, at the center of perspective illusions, the iconography of Wisdom (Sophia), represented with the figure of Hermes Trismegistus.
On the four sides, scrolls are depicted with Latin phrases taken from the Old Testament, which served to remind the ecclesiastics of their tasks and duties, and from which it is clear that the library specialized in legal disciplines.
On the back wall, the portrait of Canon Romualdo Cecchi is prominently displayed with the scroll celebrating the founding act; the Canon is portrayed in the act of observing and perhaps even admonishing the library's visitors. Today, the library of the Chapter of Pescia is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful halls in the city.
The books contained within have an inestimable value, not so much for the number of volumes (just over ten thousand units), but rather for the importance and rarity of the texts preserved since the foundation began.
Forty-two incunabula and more than a hundred manuscripts dating from the 13th to the 19th century are preserved.
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In the various sections into which the books are divided, there are 800 sixteenth-century printed books (cinquecentine), and the most precious printed volume is the incunabulum published in Pescia in 1488 by the Orlandi brothers' printing house. Another valuable specimen is the beautiful 15th-century illuminated Roman missal known as the Magdalene missal, as it belonged to the Company of the Disciplinati of Santa Maria Maddalena, the homonymous church located in front of the Cathedral.
In the manuscript collection, a precious codex with a painted wooden cover from the 15th century is preserved, reporting the transfer of the Holy Thorn from Florence to the Church of Saints Andrea and Bartolomeo of Monte a Pescia. Furthermore, a 14th-century Evangelistary is preserved, which records three important dates for the city of Pescia, specifically:
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– 1062 the Consecration of the Pieve di Santa Maria by Pope Alexander II (and Bishop of Lucca), born Anselmo da Baggio, who on that occasion donated a piece of barley bread, still preserved today in a 16th-century reliquary.
– 1287 the complete destruction and burning of Pescia by the Lucchesi.
– February 6, 1339, the entry of the Florentines into Pescia and the proclamation of the feast of Santa Dorotea as the patron saint of the City, who, together with Saints Abdon and Sennen and San Policronio, would become part of the pantheon of Pescia's Patron Saints.
Particularly noteworthy is the beautiful collection of seven thousand 16th and 17th-century engravings contained in thirty-six volumes. This impressive work arrived in the library in 1702 following the testamentary bequest of Canon Andrea Buonvicini (Rector of the Propaganda Fide College for about forty years; after his death, his role was filled only by Cardinals, the first of whom was Cardinal Fabroni of Pistoia), along with manuscripts of considerable value.
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At the end of the 1700s, the library was reorganized under the guidance of the well-known librarian of the Marucelliana library in Florence, Angelo Maria Bandini. Over the centuries, many illustrious men have donated their books to the library, such as Placido Puccinelli, Matteo Ansaldi, and Senator Leopoldo Galeotti.
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In 1772, the painter Antonio Tani painted over the entrance door to the hall the extract of the Papal bull that recalled the warning of excommunication directed at thieves.
We must remember that on the flight of stairs, before reaching the library hall, is the "Casa del Capitolo" (Chapter House), with its "secret" archive inside, which preserves all the documents concerning the "Prepositura nullius" first and the Diocese later, from the moment of its creation in 1519 to the present day.
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In addition, works of art of immense value are preserved there: a panel by Bicci di Lorenzo from around 1407 depicting Christ carrying the cross, a small crucifixion, and a small annunciation that are part of a cymatium.
A glazed terracotta Saint John the Baptist (San Giovannino), part of a stoup.
In addition to other shelving with other books received from the donations of the various Canons who have succeeded one another over the centuries.

Curated by the Association “Quelli con Pescia nel Cuore”