Aretino, Pietro

Le Lettre Di M. Pietro Aretino, Di Nuovo Con La Gionta Ristampate, E Con Somma Diligenza Riccorrette

      Aluuise Tortis, Venice 1539 - Early reprint. 12mo. [5]leaves (title & table of contents), 224 leaves. Illustrated with a woodcut frontisportrait of the author on the title page. Text in Italian. Bound in contemporary vellum with manuscript title to spine and faint manuscript inscription to front panel. All edges gilt. Vellum bowed and slightly soiled from age. Gilt edges fading. First and last leaves repaired, with the last two leaves having suffered loss of text in places from worm damage. Additionally, a single small worm hole penetrates the margin of pages 209 forward. First and last leaves tanned and with fraying to the upper margin, not affecting text. Binding repaired, adding new matching endpapers and pastedowns. ** The first Volume of Aretino?s Letters was released by Francesco Marcolini in 1537, and later volumes were compiled and published in the decades that followed. This 'Tortis' edition differs only slightly from the Marcolini edition in that the letters here are more or less ordered alphabetically. The letters were of a sort unprecedented in Italian literature and today they offer historians a stunningly detailed depiction of renaissance Italy. The magic of Aretino?s style lay in his use of direct and common language, his penchant for detail, and his brilliant phrasing, which together evoke vivid mental pictures for his readers. He harnessed these literary skills to accumulate wealth by way of blackmail or praise and soon became one of the most feared men of his time, capable of destroying great men?s reputations. His gift and motivations were bluntly evident in his letters, and upon publication of this collection he quickly gained a legendary reputation not only in Italy but across Western Europe. Aretino corresponded with countless artists, thinkers, politicians, rulers, and clergymen. Among the letters contained in this volume are some addressed to Michelangelo, Pope Clement VII, Pietro Bembo, Francesco Marcolini, King Francis I, Jacopo Sansovino, Speroni Sperone, his close friend Titian, and Paolo Manutius. The most moving letter in this collection is that written to Madonna Maria de Medici concerning the death of her husband and Aretino?s lifetime friend, Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. [Attributes: Hard Cover]