VERY SCARCE EDITION OF DANTE’S «DIVINE COMEDY» PRINTED BY FARRI

Dante Alighieri. La Divina Comedia di Dante, di nuovo alla sua vera lettione ridotta con lo aiuto di molti antichissimi esemplari. Con Argomenti, et Allegorie per ciascun Canto, et Apostille nel margine. In Vinegia appresso Domenico Farri, MDLXIX [Venice, Domenico Farri, 1569].

12mo (126x68 mm), 18th century stiff vellum binding, vellum label at spine with gilt letterings and decorations, yellow edges, pp. [36], 598, [2, the last blank]. Roman and Italic type, text in Italian.
woodcut initials, the biggest ones inhabited by puttos and mythological creatures. Woodcut friezes at title-page and at the beginning of each section.

Very scarce Renaissance pocket edition of Dante’s «Divine comediy» printed in Venice by Domenico Farri.

Giuliano Mambelli, in his Annali delle edizioni dantesche («Annals of Dante’s editions») defines this edition very clear and rare, indeed and informs that is was set up following the Venetian version printed by Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari in 1555. Dante’s life and the dedicatory letter to Coriolano, bishop of St. Mark were written by the renowned Renaissance humanist Ludovico Dolce, one of Giolito’s contributors. The biography of the poet is preceeded by a praise sonnet by Boccace.

THE WORK THAT, MORE THAN ANY OTHER, SHOWED THE CHRISTIAN MIDDLE AGE IN ITS HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS AND “SUPERTERRESTRIAL” VISION AND BECAME A LITERARY CANON FOR VERNACULAR WRITING.

Dante’s allegorical journey through the three reigns of the au-de-là (Hell, Purgatory and Paradise) was a literary device for showing to the corrupted and confused mankind the way to material and spiritual redemption. Hence, the personal stories of the people positioned by the poet in the afterworld become emblems of deviance, punishment or reward in order to direct the behaviour of Dante’s contemporaries. At the same time, the poem gives the present reader an umparalleled repertory about the history, philosophy and antropology of the European Middle Age.

DANTE ALIGHIERI (1265-1321) is the most renowned poets of Italian Literature, considered together with Petrarch and Boccace the father of the modern italian language. He belonged to the Florentine minor aristocracy and was educated at the Franciscan and Domenican Schools, studying philosophy and teology. Friend to the stilnovist poets, due to his critical opinions towards the papacy he was forced to leave Florence and live exiled for the rest of his life. He wrote Latin and Italian works, entering the number of the world classics’ masters with his Comedia, successfully defined «divine» by Boccace..

LUDOVICO DOLCE (1508-1568) was a prolific Venetian humanist that collaboratedfor a long time with Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari. He is credited with more than 300editions: his work as grammarian and translator led him to the writing of the osservazioni nella volgar lingua (1550), one of the first and basic grammars of italian language, which was published a few years after Bembo’s Prose. Dolce’s production includes works that vary from the philosophical, to historical and esoteric matter. Among the most famous there is the Aretino Dialogo della pittura (1557), in which Dolce criticizes the manieristic culture contrasting it with the rea l istic cl assicism of the Renaissance.

PROVENANCE: At verso of the paper used for the paste-down, 18th century handwritten notes regarding money transfers.

REFERENCES: Mambelli, Annali delle Edizioni Dantesche, n. 42: «Edizione nitida e rara, eseguita su l’edizione 1555 del Giolito». Adams, I, D-105; Brunet, II, 504; ICCU, IT\ICCU\RAVE\010682 and IT\ICCU\CNCE\001173; Graesse, II, p. 330; Haym, Biblioteca Italiana, parte seconda: De’ Poeti, p. 11, n. 3;

Minor wormholes at lower and outer edge, partially affecting some typografic gloss. Light yellowing to the leaves, but overall very good copy.