donation of works belonging to Benedetto and Giuseppe Averani. The collection began expanding into some of the private apartments of the palace. Foggini's marble portrait of Vicenzio is in the main reading room. Upon Gabriello's death in 1794, he willed that the library and museum be open to the public though mediated through a curator or librarian. However, in the turbulent first decades of the 19th century, the family came to bankruptcy and much of the artwork and artefacts were sold at auction during 1811–1814. In 1825 the Granducal authorities intervened to prevent the dispersal of the library and it was converted to a public library, with it first librarian Francesco Fontani. It has maintained some autonomy from the other prominent libraries in Florence: the Marucelliana, the biblioteca Nazionale, and the Laurenziana. Presently the library is administered by the Accademia della Crusca. Manuscripts Various catalogues of manuscript collections have been made, including an annotated one in 1756 by the librarian Giovanni Lami. In 1900, another catalog was published by Salomone Morpurgo (1860 – 1942), until 1898 librarian of the Riccardiana. The library holds a copy of Pliny's Historia naturalis dating from the 10th century and an autograph manuscript of the Florentine Histories of Niccolò Machiavelli. Also in the library are housed the biblical manuscripts: Minuscule 368, 369, and 370. Gallery Further reading Francesco Lumachi, Firenze - Nuova guida illustrata storica-artistica-anedottica della città e dintorni, Firenze, Società Editrice Fiorentina, 1929 Giovanna Lazzi, La Biblioteca Riccardiana di Firenze. L’ambiente, le collezioni, i servizi, Firenze, Polistampa, 2009 References External links Biblioteca Riccardiana Firenze official website Biblioteca Riccardiana at the Institute and Museum of the History of Science Manoscritti della Biblioteca Riccardiana Libraries in Florence Culture in Florence World Digital Library partners Palazzo Medici Riccardi National libraries in Italy 1600 establishments in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1600 establishments in Italy Buildings and structures completed in 1600 Libraries established in 1600