In 1776, Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc formally founded the Bibliotheca Publica, and it was also called the Bibliotheca Tanseana in De Tencin's honour. The "Forfantone" was considered too cramped to house the new library, so the Polish-born Italian architect Stefano Ittar was commissioned to design a new library building in 1786. The building was built on the site of the "Conservatoria", where gold and silver bullion of the Order's treasury were stored. It was completed in 1796, but it remained empty for some years due to the French invasion of 1798. It was eventually inaugurated on 4 June 1812 by Civil Commissioner Sir Hildebrand Oakes, and it became known as the Malta Public Library.