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The Vatican Library ( Latin: Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana) is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest and most significant libraries of historical texts.
Pope Nicholas V established the library in 1448 by combining some 350 Greek, Latin and Hebrew codices inherited from his predecessors with his own collection and extensive acquisitions, among them manuscripts from the imperial library of Constantinople.When its first librarian, Bartolomeo Platina, produced a listing in 1481, the library held over 3500 items, making it by far the largest in the Western world. Around 1587, Pope Sixtus V commissioned the architect Domenico Fontana to construct a new building for the library; it is still in use today. Books were displayed on benches to which they were chained.
The library was enriched by several bequests and acquisitions over the centuries.
In 1623, the hereditary Palatine Library of Heidelberg containing about 3500 manuscripts, was given to the Vatican by Maximilian I, Duke of Bavaria in thanks for the adroit political maneuvers of Pope Gregory XV that had sustained him in his contests with Protestant candidates for the electoral seat. A token 39 of the Heidelberg manuscripts were sent to Paris in 1797 and were returned to Heidelberg at the Peace of Paris in 1815, and a gift from Pope Pius VII of 852 others was made in 1816. Aside from that, the Palatine Library remains in the Vatican Library to this day.
In 1657, the manuscripts of the Dukes of Urbino were acquired. In 1661 the Greek scholar Leo AllatiusLeo Allatius (circa 1586 January 19, 1669) was an energetic Greek Catholic scholar and theologian. Allatius was born in Chios around 1586, a distinctly Eastern Orthodox environment. A graduate of the Greek College of St. Athanasius in Rome, he spent his c was made librarian. Christina of SwedenChristina (1626-1689) or Kristina later known as Maria Christina Alexandra and sometime Count Dohna was Queen of Sweden from 1632 to 1654, was the daughter of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. As the heiress presumptive she succeeded her father to the thr saw to it that her library, which was for all practical purposes the entire royal library of Sweden of the time, became part of the Vatican Library on her death in 1689.
Today, the library holds some 75,000 manuscripts and over 1.1 million printed books, which include some 8,500 incunabula. The Secret Vatican ArchivesThe Secret Vatican Archives contain the central repository of all the acts that have been promulgated by the Roman Catholic Church's Papal See, as well as diplomatic materials and correspondence of the Papal See and other documents that have accumulated o were separated from the library at the beginning of the 17th century16th century 17th century 18th century more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601- 1700. During this period, the power of England and the United Provinces increased; while that of; they contain another 150,000 items.
Among the most famous holdings of the library is the Codex VaticanusThe Codex Vaticanus (Vatican City, Bibl. 1209; Gregory-Aland no. B or 03 is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible. It is slightly older than Codex Sinaiticus, both of which were probably transcribed in the 4th century. It is written in Greek,, the oldest known manuscript of the BibleThe Bible (From Greek βιβλια biblia meaning "books", which in turn is derived from βυβλος byblos meaning "papyrus", from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus). The Secret History of ProcopiusThe writings of Procopius of Caesarea ( 500 ? 565 ?), in Palestine, are the primary source of information for the rule of the emperor Justinian. He was the author of a history in eight books of the wars fought by the Justinian I, a panegyric on Justinian' was discovered in the library and published in 1623.
A commonly repeated urban legend has it that the Vatican Library holds the largest collection of pornography in the world. This is false; the library owns very few pornographic materials, largely file copies of works on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. There are also a few mildly erotic works of art, but very little since the Renaissance.
The Vatican Library is a research library for history, law, philology, science and theology, open to anyone who can document their qualifications and their research needs to view the collection. Photocopies for private study of pages from books published between 1801 and 1990 can be requested in person or by mail. A School of Library Science is associated with the Vatican Library.
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