Abstract

Called by Grand Duke Cosimo III, the Franciscans of Saint Peter of Alcántara in the Spanish religious province of San José arrived in Montelupo Fiorentino in 1678 and settled in Villa Medicea dell’Ambrogiana. What moved the devout Grand Duke to establish a religious foundation was his great desire for spiritual renewal and to be served by a young non-Tuscan religious order. From a manuscript held in the National Library in Florence (Notizia del Real Convento di San Pietro d’Alcantara all’Ambrogiana fondato l’anno di Nostro Signore 1678), we learn of the importance of this religious order. It was important not only for the spiritual training of the souls entrusted to them, but above all for the importance of the knowledges housed in the villa’s rich library. This was used both by the clerics for their studies and the Grand Duke himself for his private reading. The promotion of the foundation to Studium, with its grand ducal diploma, on 24 March 1680 led to its becoming a «convento de estudio» and thus increasingly characterised the environment of the Ambrogiana. An analysis of the list of volumes held in the monastery library (which is contained in a Magliabechiano manuscript) is a good starting point to reflect on knowledges, enduring cultural aspects and cultural developments of the Alcantarin Foundation of the Ambrogiana.