Le Prose nelle quali si ragiona della volgar lingua scritte al Cardinale de Medici, che poi fucreato a Sommo Pontefice, et detto Papa Clemente VII., divise in tre libri, et reviste con somma diligenza da M. Lodovico Dolce. Con la Tavola

1557. Venice: Andrea Arrivabene, 1557.

12mo, (60), 259, [260, colophon with woodcut]pp. Original stiff vellum, backstrip lettered in gilt, small split along label, very early ink inscriptions on title and verso (faded) and a modern one at the end.

§ A pretty little edition of this immensely popular book, a foundational work of Italian literature. The "Prose" had fundamental importance in the linguistic discussions of the sixteenth century, proposing Florentine as a literary language for the entire peninsula of Italy, that is, giving dignity to the vernacular, making it equal for regularity to Latin. Pietro Bembo (Venice 1470-Rome (truncated) 1547) was an illustrious scholar and historian and had a complex and intense life from a cultural and human point of view. Scarce in commerce -- no copies online as of 8/2023 and only 4 in RBH in the last 20 years. Adams B574; Censimento 16 CNCE 5053. (Inventory #: 125880)