Las Cosas Maravillosas de la Santa Ciudad de Roma, en donde de trata delas Yglesias, Estaciones, Reliquias, y Cuerpos Santos, que ay en ella, y diversos casamientos de pobres Donzellas, que se hazen.
Large 8vo. 224 pp. , including 76 quarter- to half-page woodcuts in text; 1 double-page woodcut, and 1 double-page engraving of Bernini's colonnade. Bound in contemporary stiff vellum, title stenciled neatly on spine. Some toning and even, light browning on scattered leaves, and pale waterstain on some others, mended tear at p. 127, a fresh copy, very good.
Rare edition (first 1700) of this guide to Rome for Spanish-speaking pilgrims and travelers, one of many such guides regularly updated to include the building programs of successive popes, and all ultimately deriving from the first illustrated edition of Girolamo Francini's (Franzini) Le Cose Maravigliose dell'alma Città di Roma (1588). The present work is a partial translation and paraphrase of that work. The woodcuts are rustic copies of those appearing in the descendants of Francini, with additions, though the engraving of Bernini’s colonnade, with the anachronistic tripylon – it was at one point planned but never existed— appears to be an innovation of the edition of 1711. In addition to describing the traditional churches to be visited by a pilgrim in the canonical sequence, there is a paraphrase of Palladio’s work on roman antiquities, a chronological list of all Popes from Peter to Clement (Albani) XI, a similar list of emperors and kings, and a description of the seven wonders of the world etc. Not all of the contents are geared to the pilgrim: there is a short chapter (213-16) on local Roman wines that any tourist would appreciate.
Rossetti lists earlier editions from the same publisher in 1710 and a different publisher in 1700, making this edition third. Vaccondio, an Italian, is definitely the compiler, though whether he is also the translator is unclear. NUC lists 1 copy of a later 1720 edition at DCU-IA. OCLC lists Columbia and Otago for this edition and the same locations for an edition of 1720.
* Rossetti G-1065; Schudt 169;
Price: $1,850.00