Peplus Italiae; Cryptae Massiliacensis Topographia

Lutetiae (Paris): Fédéric Morel, 1578. First edition. Hardcover. Fine. 12mo. (16),118,(8 blanks). Recent full brown leather spine in six compartments, gilt; antique marbled paper in a non-pareil design inlaid on the boards; double marbled endpapers. A fine copy. With Toscano's tribute to Marcilhac-sur-Célé, the Cryptae Massiliacensis Topographia, present at pp. 119-124. In Latin

Blank pages at the end, apparently added later, are an index of authors in a contemporary hand. One leaf seems to be excised.

Contains epigrams on 200 Italian writers, poets, scholars, etc. from Dante Alighieri to Giovanni Carga, each with a short biography (truncated) of the person honored. It is considered a valuable source of information on Italian culture and intellectual life in the 16th century. It is also a work of art in its own right, with its elegant Latin prose and its insightful and often witty portraits of the individuals it celebrates. It was later reprinted in Hamburg in 1730.

The book is dedicated to Antonio Ebrard Sansuplicianum, Bishop and Count of Cahors, France. In the dedication, Toscano expresses his admiration for Italian culture and his hope that his book will help to spread knowledge of Italian writers and scholars throughout Europe.
. (Inventory #: 22165)