Heritage

The bibliographical holdings of the ''Ente Raccolta Vinciana", the photographic library and diverse collections, together make up one of the three most important reference points in the world for the study of the work of Leonardo. In addition to rare publications from the 16th century onwards and some manuscripts, the institution holds all editions in facsimile of the manuscripts of Leonardo, from the oldest, dating from the second half of the nineteenth century, to the most recent, published under the supervision of the Lincei Academy (Rome), the Reale Commissione Vinciana (Rome), the Institut de France (Parigi) and of the Commissione Nazionale Vinciana (Rome).
Up to the end of 1989 the bibliographic holdings of the institution, comprising over 5.800 works, was indexed together with that of the Leonardian Library in Vinci, by Professor Mauro Guerrini and the indexing was published in a monumental work of 2.200 pages. The prodigious enterprise took Professor Guerrini 6 years to complete at a cost of almost one hundred million lire, divided between the "Ente Raccolta Vinciana"  and the Municipality of Vinci.  In addition to the library, the institution’s photographic archive plays the important role of bringing together many photographs (some very rare) of the works of Leonardo and his circle (often of considerable importance because they record works that are missing, no longer exist or, in the case of restorations, because they document their previous state) including paintings, sculptures and engravings related to the iconography of Leonardo.