Thermal Waters and Baths Outside Bologna

.

BASSI, Ferdinando.

Delle terme Porrettani.

Rome, Stamperia di Giovanni Zampel, 1768.

Large 4to (28.2 x 20.7 cm). vi, [2], 283, [1] pp., with 4 engraved folding plates and 14 engraved illustrative and decorative vignettes. Bound in contemporary cardboard wrappers. Large margined, uncut and on thick paper. Inconsequential toning and light foxing on title-page and scattered leaves. Excellent copy with deckled edges.

First and sole edition of this encyclopedic guide to the thermal waters and baths of Porretano, in the vicinity of Bologna in the Reno River valley, and a popular spa to this day. One of the most lavishly produced of 18th century Italian guides, the illustrations, maps and plans might suggest a savvy attempt to "market" the therapeutic properties of the waters to medical practitioners referring patients, though the author appears to have been a disinterested naturalist. These include a bird's eye view of the baths in relation to the nearest village, abbreviated architectural plans of some of the buildings, and a number of very attractive vignettes.

The work focuses on the precise chemical composition of waters from distinct springs, and attempts to explain why a water from a given source appears to be efficacious against a given ailment. The latter clearly shows the mark of the most recent developments in analytical chemistry (Boerhaaave and the French). There are also chapters on the geography and geological history of the area and the usual collection of antiquarian lore.

The distinguished naturalist Ferdinando Bassi (1714-74) was Prefect of the Botanical Gardens at Bologna, one of the great centers of pharmacological research and like the garden at near-by Padua, closely allied to the medical faculty. Bassi discovered a number of botanical species and was widely recognized in his lifetime. He was paid the signal compliment of having a species of tree named after him by Linnaeus.

* Blake p. 33; NBG IV.703.

Price: $975.00