At the beginning of the 17th century Francesco Branciforte and his wife Lady Joanna of Austria had an impressive library built next to their palace, containing thousands of volumes, artwork, world maps and other curious objects. It was destroyed by the earthquake of 1693 and never rebuilt, so all trace of it was lost.
Proof of its existence is shown by some deeds dating from 1681: the great hall contained three levels of balconies and was very spacious.
The documents describe a length of around forty metres, and with its nine metres of height it must have been a welcoming place to study.
