Descripción

THE FIRT MODERN GUIDE TO VENICE
4to (203x144 mm). [4], 286 [i.e. 278], 38, [32 of 34] leaves. Lacking the last blank leaf. Collation: 1A4 A6 B-Zzz4 aa-hh4 ii6 a-g4 h6. With the printer's device on the title page. Woodcut decorative initials. Roman and italic type. Colophon and register at l. h5v. Late 17th-century calf, spine in compartments with gilt ornaments and title, blue sprinkled edges (slightly worn, spine and joints partially repaired). Some occasional pale staining, a few quires slightly browned, all in all a very good, genuine copy.
First edition of this key work in Italian 16th-century art history. This guidebook in 14 books, on which Sansovino worked over eight years, is dedicated to Bianca Cappello de' Medici and includes copious descriptions of the churches and works of art of the city, many of which have since then been destroyed or lost. It also contains an account of the habits and customs of the Venetians (public ceremonies and the “scuole” or confraternities), brief lives of famous Venetians of public affairs and letters, and a short history of the city (cf. G.W. McClure, The Culture of Profession in Late Renaissance Italy, Toronto, 2004, passim). Sansovino's use of historical material and his judgement were intelligent. Suffused with the author's love of the city, the book was accurate enough, and the topography of Venice has changed so little, that the modern tourist could still use it (cf. V. Hadeln, Sansovinos “Venetia” als Quelle für die Geschichte der venezianischen Malerei, in “Jahrbuch der Preussischen Kunstsammlungen”, XXXI, 1910, pp. 149-158; see also F. Gaeta,Venezia da stato misto ad aristocrazia esemplare, in: “Storia della cultura veneta”, IV/2, 1984, pp. 437-490).
For Sansovino no other city was comparable to Venice and especially the “liberty one enjoyed in it, ‘in questa sempre felicissima et veramente ammiranda Città': ‘I would not exchange it for the dearest, the most beautiful, the most opulent things in the entire universe'. Here the individual can realize himself and all his faculties to the fullest, without fear of subjugation by other persons (‘senza tema di essere insidiato, spogliato, o tiranneggiato da persone vivente'). In Venice there reigns justice: the plebe must not fear the noble, the poor must not suffer the insults of the rich. And justice goes hand and hand with religion, religion being the origin and foundation of our state and justice its guardian. Thus, each and all enjoy their rights. If the state is paternalistic, under the dominance of nobles, this dominion is exercised with ‘dolcezza paterna'. Everyone shares in the general and complete satisfaction. Thus Francesco, on the one hand, subsumes his personal existence and freedom in the polity of the state. But when he comes to his words, his personal character emerges, as a manifestation which is implicitly in accord with the political conception of the Venetian republic” (C. Davis,Individual and Policy in the ‘Vita' of Francesco Sansovino, in: “Fontes. Quellen und Dokumente zur Kunst, 1350-1750”, 45, 2010, pp. 7-8).
According to J. Schlosser, “this important book gives a virtually complete picture of the history and organisation of that city, unique in the world – hence the word singolare in the title - and an exact topography of the city according to its sestieri, in which special attention is given to the churches and their works of art. Book VII contains the description of the scuole, extremely important at Venice, while books VIII and IX describe the palaces and public and private buildings. It is the first artistic topography of one of the most important Italian art centers to be printed, and is truly worthy of the name. It is of singular value for the abundance of its notices on one of the richest of artistic periods” (La letteratura artistica, Florence, 1956, pp. 367-368; see also E. Carrara, Francesco Sansovino letterato e intendente d'arte, in: “Arte Veneta”, LIX, 2002, pp. 229-238).
Francesco Sansovino was