ESTIENNE, Charles.
£1,750 · Offered by Sokol Books
A very good copy of this beautifully illustrated biographical history of the dukes and viscounts of Renaissance Milan. By the erudite printer Charles Estienne, it comprises, for the most part, a summary of Giovio s biography of the Visconti family, first published by his brother Robert Estienne in 1549. Paolo Giovio (1483-1552) was an Italian physician, historian and catholic bishop. In the dedication of this edition, Charles praises Giovio s historical work and explains that he realised an abbreviated version for the readers who want to learn and enjoy great things , but do not have much time to dedicate to reading. Moreover, he adds that although Latin would have been more elegant, he translated the text into French because this is the language that the majority of people understand and that it is nowadays even more spread across the entire world, than Latin was at the time of the Romans . However, this is not a just a simple summary of Giovio, as Charles specifies that he included those [useful] pieces of information that the author might have omitted . In fact, following a chronological order, Charles integrated Giovio s biographies of twelve Visconti with those of other members of the family who are not mentioned by the first author (such as Eriprando, founder of the dynasty). Moreover, he included the history of The Della Torre family, which ruled in Milan before being ousted by the Visconti in 1277, and of the Sforza, which acquired the Dutchy following the extinction
- Binding: Hardcover
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