Lucchesiana Library

The history of this library is directly related to the Bishop Andrea Lucchesi Palli, descendant of the noble family of Campofranco: a man of elevated culture with an authentic passion for knowledge. Over the years he had collected extraordinary books, documents, manuscripts and other precious objects. He was so firmly convinced that knowledge was the fundamental instrument for the spiritual and social development of a community that has wished to share his entire collection with his diocesans, the inhabitants of Agrigento. The library was built in great pomp: the infinite wooden bookcases and the wrought iron balustrades only hint at the extraordinary beauty of this 18^th century shrine of wisdom. The library was donated to the citizens and opened to the public on October 16, 1765. It contained 10 thousand volumes, all belonging to the Bishop’s private collection, amongst which precious manuscripts, Arabian statutes and incunabula and statutes decorated with miniatures. After having survived several adverse events, the library now contains more than 60 thousand volumes, many of which have been donated or bequeathed. The marble statue of the Bishop watches over his precious and beloved collection in the main hall.