FULL TITLE: Dante con l'espositioni di Christoforo Landino et d'Alessandro Vellvtello sopra la sua comedia dell' Inferno, del Purgatorio, & del Paradiso. : con tavole argomenti, & allegorie, & riformato, riveduto, & ridotto alla sua vera lettura, per Francesco Sansovino, fiorentino.
Written by Dante Alighieri (c. 1265 – 14 September 1321)
Published by Appresso Giovambattista, Marchiò Sessa, et fratelli, In Venetia, 1578
Colophon: "In Venetia, Appresso gli Heredi di Francesco Rampazetto. Ad instantia di Giovambattista, Marchio Sessa, et fratelli, 1578"--Colophon
Language: Italian (Tuscan/Florentine)
DESCRIPTION:
Alighieri, Dante. Dante con l'espositioni di Christoforo Landino et d'Alessandro Vellvtello sopra la sua comedia dell' Inferno, del Purgatorio, & del Paradiso. Venice: Giovambattista and Marchio Sessa, 1578. In-folio (310mm), second Sansovino edition, a⁸ b⁶ c⁴ d¹° A-V⁸ X¹² Y-Z⁸ AA-ZZ⁸ AAA-CCC⁸ (missing fol. 13 or B5). Dante's text surrounded by commentaries in double columns, text in Italics, title-page with woodcut portrait of Dante, decorated initials, side-notes, head- and tail-pieces; 97 woodcut illustrations with three full-page illustrations all after the 1544 Vellutello edition, and Sessa's printer's device (a cat) on colophon (verso of last leaf), with other appearances in head-pieces. Bound in mottled calf, with marbled endpapers, six spine compartments, with Dante in gold-gilt on red leather spine label, year 1578 in roman numerals on green leather.
This is the 1578 printing of Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy) with commentary by Alessandro Vellutello and Cristoforo Landino, printed by Appresso Giovambattista and Marchiò Sessa, 97 woodcuts. Francesco Sansovino first published this edition in 1564, bringing together the commentaries of Landino and Vellutello for the first time and incorporating the illustrations from the 1544 Marcolini–Vellutello edition. This is the second edition to contain both commentaries along with the illustrations.
The Divine Comedy (1320) is among the most influential works of world literature; its impact on both the European religious and literary imagination is undeniable. Linguistically, Dante's work is important as it is largely responsible for the standardization of the Tuscan/Florentine dialect as standard Italian. His use of allusion, symbolism, folklore, and history is rooted in both the classical tradition and Dante's own contemporary medieval world, resulting in a trove of medieval Italian thought and historical perspective.
Sansovino’s 1564 edition of Dante united the commentaries of Cristoforo Landino and Alessandro Vellutello within a single editorial framework, allowing readers to compare competing Renaissance interpretations of the Commedia. Landino’s commentary was "(f)irst printed in late August 1481,” marking “a pivotal moment in the Florentine cult of Dante, in commentary literature upon his poem, and in the book market for printed 'Dantes'" (Gilson 2013, 48). The 1544 Vellutello edition included some of the "most beautiful illustrations to the poem of the Renaissance" (Lansing, 850), and were perhaps "executed by Giovanni Britto, who worked as an engraver for Marcolini"(Parker). The illustrations are considered to be "the most distinctive Renaissance renditions of the poem after Botticelli's" (Parker). The commentary and woodcuts were later recycled throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, as in this edition.
CONDITION: Good condition, text block in very good condition; hinge on back board loose at top, cracked; front hinge also cracked, both boards still attached and openable; boards with chips, lacks and marks, text block with some holes and worming, especially from p.153-236, and 331-392, occassional creasing and torn corners, damp staining and foxing throughout, a few instances of ink stains and smudging, Several incidences of owners notes and copious manicules, old auction description taped onto the verso of the ffep(?), book ribbon still present but incredibly fragile (p.41), old piece of paper (potentially used as book mark) located at p.345. Errors in foliation: 107 numbered as 103, correction hand-inked by previous owner, 288 numbered as 286, 322 as 320, 388 numbered 288, foliation stops at 163 (X3) for Vellutello's commentary and continues foliation at X8 beginning of Purgatorio. Missing fol.13 (B5).
References: OCLC 1391240249
BOOK MEASUREMENTS: In-4° (310 mm)
TOTAL LENGTH: Signatures: a⁸ b⁶ c⁴ d¹° A-V⁸ X¹² Y-Z⁸ AA-ZZ⁸ AAA-CCC⁸ (missing fol. 13 or B5).
