Maraviglie heroiche del sesso donnesco memorabili nella duchessa Matilda Marchesana Malaspina, Contessa di Canossa &c. detta la Gran Contessa d'Italia, con allegationi historiche, circa la vera essenza del suo sangue. Narrationi del marchese Giulio Dal Pozzo K.r [...]

Folio (285x190 mm). [8], 520 pp. and [12] engraved plates (3 folding). Collation: [π]⁴ A-Ttt⁴. Half-title: Maraviglie heroiche di Matilda la Grancontessa d'Italia. Woodcut decorative initials and headpieces. Text throughout within a typographic border. Two of the plates are signed by Cesare Zambelini and dated 1677. Slighlty later half calf gilt, morocco lettering piece on spine, panels covered with colored papers, sprinkled edges (worn and rubbed). Some occasional light foxing, a few marginal tears along the folding of two of the plates, otherwise a very good, genuine copy.

Rare first edition of this illustrated genealogical and historical account of the life of Matilda of Tuscany or Matilda of Canossa (c. 1046-1115), also referred to as la Gran Contessa (‘the Great Countess'), one of the most important governing figures of the Italian Middle Ages and one of the rare medieval women remembered for her political and military achievments. The work is dedicated to her kinsman and descendant Alberico II Cybo Malaspina (1607-1690), Duke of Massa and Prince of Carrara.

The plates include an allegorical frontispiece, the coat-of-arms of the dedicatee, a battle scene in front of the Milan Cathedral signed by Cesare Zambelini and dated 1677, the Malaspina family tree with a view of Luni, an oval portrait of Sigfrido, Attone, Tedaldo, and Bonifatio Malaspina, a view of Canossa, an oval portrait of Matilda, the equestrian monument of the Marquis Spinetta, and a portrait of Matilda seated on a throne, flanked by a monk presenting her with a book on one side and a soldier clutching a sword on the other, with the epigraph “Mathildis lucens precor hoc cape carvo Lumen” (the plate is dated 1677 and signed by Zambellini). The Latin inscription is reproduced on the following page with the same typeface as the engraving, whose punches were specially made for the occasion. In text there are woodcut illustrations depicting coins of the Malaspinas and Adalberto of Tuscany, numerous full- and half-page genealogical trees, and an engraving of a coat-of-arms.

The work provides a bibliography of over 150 authors, including four earlier biographers of Matilda published between 1587 and 1642. In the 17^th-century, Pope Urban VIII revived Matilda's story as a remarkable example of devotion to papal authority. The present work, meticulously researched, made an important contribution to her renewed prominence.

Italian Union Catalogue, IT\ICCU\LO1E\003449; Platner, 85; STC, XVII, 705; Moreni, II, p. 212.

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