Folio [33 x 23.5]. [5] ff, (14), 128 pp., two double-page engraved plates and an engraved portrait of Galileo bound at rear, with woodcut geometric diagrams in text throughout. Bound in contemporary cartonnage with blue paper spine, pages clean and fresh, a large paper copy. Mint.

A large paper copy of this scarce final published work of Viviani, representing the culmination of his efforts to reconstruct a lost manuscript by Aristaeus the Elder on the exposition of curves. Nearing the end of his life, Viviani also took the opportunity of the present work’s publication to offer a final tribute to his mentor, Galileo: in 1693 Viviani had commenced the transformation of his home in Florence into a veritable shrine to that figure, and here provides for the reader two double-page engravings illustrating his ‘Casa Deo Data’.

The Palazzo Viviani, also known as the Palazzo dei Cartelloni, was originally designed by Giovanni Battista Nelli. Viviani's renovations to the façade in the 1690s added a bust of Galileo sculpted by Giovanni Battista Foggini above the main entrance, with large Latin inscriptions honoring Galileo placed above and on each side. After Viviani's death, the palace changed ownership several times and is now home to the SACI Studio Arts College International. The building includes a recently restored classical garden and features interior rooms with ornate coffered ceilings and frescoes depicting romantic landscapes and other scenes.

“Viviani’s first project was an attempted restoration of a work by Aristaeus the Elder, De locis solidis secunda divinatio geometrica, which Viviani undertook when he was twenty-four. Aristaeus’ work is believed to have been the first methodical exposition of the curves discovered by Menaechmus; but since it has been entirely lost, it is difficult to estimate how close Viviani came to the original work.” (DSB). A rudimentary version of Viviani’s effort was printed in Florence in 1673; the present volume is the full work as corrected and expanded by the author (as explained on the title page).

Historiographically speaking, the work makes quite an effort to resuscitate the reputation and standing of Galileo; although ostensibly having little to do with him, Viviani proudly notes that he is the student of ‘magni Galilaei’ on the title page and devotes a curious section at the end of the work entirely to his former teacher. Here Viviani takes advantage of the opportunity to not only dedicate his work to his patron, Louis XIV, but also to express his thanks for the pension which the King of France has granted him and which has enabled him to remodel his home. The interested reader is provided with a transcription of each plaque he has added to the façade of his house, identified with letters corresponding to those on the engraved plates. Each inscription lauds Galileo in some way; one lengthy piece takes a rather bold stand and decries the ‘envious opponents’ of Galileo who raised ‘false accusations’ against him. To ensure the shunned astronomer’s immortality, Viviani proudly displays the bust of Galileo he has placed above his portal, reproduced here in a full-page engraved portrait plate.

*Cinti 167; Riccardi, II: 629.

Price: $3,950.00