1587 STORIA DI GIOVANNI VILLANI Florence Italy History ANTIQUE VELLUM BOOK Rare

  

Up for sale is this very rare antique 1587 vellum bound copy of, Storia di Giovanni Villani Cittadino Fiorentino, Nuovamente Corretta, e alla sua vera lezione ridotta. Giovanni was a chronicler of Florence, Italy who wrote the Nuova Cronica about the history of Florence.

He was also a banker, official, diplomat, and leading statesman who later served time in prison. Giovanni died in 1348 from the Bubonic Plague. The book is overall in good condition with some typical signs of wear and age. It is bound in limp vellum covers which have some nice manuscript titling to the spine and some mild soiling and wear. The front & back free endpapers are no longer present.

There are some cracks and minor gaps to the interior hinges, but the binding of the book is good and sound. The interior is toned from age with some occasional foxing, tanning & staining. The text is all still readable.

One leaf has a tear a few inches in length to the gutter margin which has neatly been repaired with acid free archival tape. Another leaf has a very small hole which affects a tiny portion of text. There is likely a few other pages with some other very minor chips or tears.

One of the pages has a small rectangle of white paper adhered to it, though no text is not affected. There are some printing errors to a few of the pages numbers; however, the content is correct and the text of the book is complete. The back pastedown and last few pages of the index have some minor spots of worming. A few of the pages have some old manuscript notation and underlining in fountain pen. Along with that there is likely the very occasional page with some kind of other minor imperfection such as a creased page corner, minor interior crack, wrinkle, other very minor spot of worming, etc. Generally though, it's a good copy.

The book measures approximately 8 5/8 inches by 5 7/8 inches and is about 2 1/2 inches thick. It is 936 pages long with an additional index at the rear.

The text of the book is in Italian. Please look at the photos to further note the condition.

Giovanni Villani Italian pronunciation: d? 1276 or 1280 - 1348[1][2] was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the Nuova Cronica (New Chronicles) on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman of Florence but later gained an unsavoury reputation and served time in prison as a result of the bankruptcy of a trading and banking company he worked for. His interest in and elaboration of economic details, statistical information, and political and psychological insight mark him as a more modern chronicler of late medieval Europe. [3] His Cronica is viewed as the first introduction of statistics as a positive element in history. [4] However, historian Kenneth R. Bartlett notes that, in contrast to his Renaissance-era successors, his reliance on such elements as divine providence links Villani closely with the medieval vernacular chronicle tradition. [5] In recurring themes made implicit through significant events described in his Cronica, Villani also emphasized three assumptions about the relationship of sin and morality to historical events, these being that excess brings disaster, that forces of right and wrong are in constant struggle, and that events are directly influenced by the will of God. Villani was inspired to write his Cronica after attending the jubilee celebration in Rome in 1300 and noting the venerable history of that city. He outlined the events in his Cronica year for year, following a strictly linear narrative format. He provided intricate details on many important historical events of the city of Florence and the wider region of Tuscany, such as construction projects, floods, fires, famines, and plagues. While continuing work on the Cronica and detailing the enormous loss of life during the Black Death in 1348, Villani died of the same illness. [9] His work on the Cronica was continued by his brother and nephew.

Villani's work has received both praise and criticism from modern historians. The criticism is mostly aimed at his emphasis on supernatural guidance of events, his organizational style, and his glorification of the papacy and Florence.

This item is in the category "Books & Magazines\Antiquarian & Collectible". The seller is "nevermore_antiques_and_books" and is located in this country: US.

This item can be shipped to United States.

• Year Printed: 1587
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Italy
• Topic: Historical
• Binding: Vellum
• Region: Europe
• Author: Villani, Giovanni
• Subject: History
• Original/Facsimile: Original
• Language: Italian
• Publisher: Filippo, e Iacopo Giunti, e Fratelli
• Place of Publication: Fiorenza (Florence), Italy