Antonio Magliabechi, bust at the Biblioteca Nazionale in Florence.

Antonio Magliabechi (or Magliabecchi) was a famous librarian, scholar and bibliophile born at Florence in 1633, the son of a burgher named Marco Magliabechi, and Ginevra Baldorietta. Galileos dome The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence, Italy, is one of two national libraries of the country, along with Romes one. ... The Librarian, a 1556 painting by Giuseppe Arcimboldo A librarian is an information professional trained in library science and information science: the organization and management of information and service to people with information needs. ... A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline, perhaps receiving financial support through a scholarship. ... Bibliophilia is the love of books; a bibliophile is a lover of books. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... Events February 13 - Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. ... Burgher can refer to: a title; in the European Middle Ages, a burgher was any freeman of a burgh or borough; or any inhabitant of a borough, a person who lives in town (in Dutch the word for citizen is burger and the German cognate is Bürger). ...

Although Magliabecchi was apprenticed to a goldsmith, and worked in this capacity until his fortieth year, Michele Ermini, librarian to Cardinal de' Medici, recognized his academic ability and taught him Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. A goldsmith creating a new ring A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with precious metals, usually to make jewelry. ... Category: ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ...

In 1673 he became librarian to Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Magliabecchi became the central figure of literary life in Florence, and scholars of every nation sought his acquaintance and corresponded with him. Whilst this eminent post gave him considerable prominence, he is remembered more for his personal characteristics and his vast store of self-acquired learning. He has been described as a literary glutton, and the most rational of bibliomaniacs, inasmuch as he read everything he bought. His own library consisted of 40,000 books and 10,000 manuscripts. His house literally overflowed with books; the stairways were lined with them, and they even filled the front porch. Many stories are told of his marvellous memory that was "like wax to receive and marble to retain." One of the best known of these stories is that when the Duke of Florence, Cosimo, asked him for an extremely rare book he replied, "Signore, there is but one copy of that book in the world; it is in the Grand Signore's library at Constantinople, and is the eleventh book in the second shelf on the right hand as you go in." 1673 (MDCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... Cosimo III de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 to 1723. ... Bibliomania is the obsessive purchase or collecting of books to the point where social relations or health are damaged. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... candle wax This page is about the substance. ... For other uses, see Marble (disambiguation). ... Cosimo III de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (14 August 1642 – 31 October 1723) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1670 to 1723. ... The Ottoman Dynasty (or the Imperial House of Osman) ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1281 to 1923, beginning with Osman I (not counting his father, ErtuÄŸrul), though the dynasty was not proclaimed until 1383 when Murad I declared himself sultan. ... This article is about the city before the Fall of Constantinople (1453). ...

In worldly matters Magliabecchi was extremely negligent. Reputedly, he once even forgot to draw his salary for over a year. He wore his clothes until they fell from him, and thought it a great waste of time to undress at night, "life being so short and books so plentiful". He welcomed all inquiring scholars, provided they did not disturb him while at work. He had a hearty dislike for Jesuits. The story goes that one day in pointing out the Palazzo Riccardi to a stranger he said, "Here the new birth of learning took place," and then turning to the college of the Jesuits, "There they have come back to bury it." The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Courtyard of Palazzo Medici Riccardi. ...

Stories about Magliabecchi abound. Apparently, he was a man of a most forbidding and savage aspect, and exceedingly negligent of his person. He refused to be waited upon. His dinner was commonly three hard eggs, with a draught of water. He had a small window in his door, through which he could see all those who approached him; and if he did not wish for their company, he would not admit them. He spent some hours in each day at the palace library; but is said never in his life to have gone farther from Florence than to Prato, whither he once accompanied Cardinal Norris to see a manuscript. An egg is a body consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing of some type, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo. ... This article is about the city in Italy. ... Prato is a city in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. ...

Magliabecchi died at the age of 81, in the year 1714, at the monastery of Sta. Maria Novella. He left his books to the Grand Duke to be used as a public library; his fortune went to the poor. His library, known as the Magliabechiana, was combined with the grand-ducal private library by Victor Emmanuel II of Italy in 1861, the two forming the Biblioteca Nazionale. Battle of Gangut, by Maurice Baquoi, 1724-27. ... The Romanesque-Gothic facade, completed by Leon Battista Alberti in 1470 Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence. ... Librarians and patrons in a typical larger urban public library. ... King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy. ... Year 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Galileos dome The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale of Florence, Italy, is one of two national libraries of the country, along with Romes one. ...

References

• Library Juice 8:5
  
• Catholic Encyclopedia article