Floro - Fatti de Romani - 1546

The Roman Empire as an example for current affairs: history and politics during the Renaissance
This 1546 edition of the Epitome by Lucio Anneo Floro, translated into Italian vernacular, testifies to a crucial moment in Renaissance culture, when Roman historiography definitively moved beyond the exclusive realm of scholars and Latinists to enter the sphere of civic and political education for the lay public. The history of Rome, condensed into a compact, energetic, and strongly ideological narrative, is made accessible as a tool for moral education, reflection on power, and the construction of civic identity. The translation preserves the rhetorical and moral framework of the original, transforming Rome’s rise, peak, and decline into an exemplary parabola, readable as an implicit political manual. The volume, embellished with a figurative frontispiece and a sober yet authoritative typographic design, belongs to the tradition of historical translations aimed at an educated but non-academic audience, for whom Romanity becomes an ethical model, a repertoire of examples, and a tool for judgment on the present.
Market value
In the antiquarian market, the 16th-century editions in the vernacular of Floro's Epitome generally range between 500 and 2,500 euros, with higher valuations for copies in good antique binding and with well-preserved illustrated frontispiece. The relatively early date, the educational purpose, and the formative role of the text significantly increase collector interest, especially among scholars and collectors of Renaissance history and political culture.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary example in rigid parchment binding, smooth spine with ancient handwritten titling. Presence of wear and widespread stains on the parchment, consistent with long circulation. Illustrated title page with a woodcut frame. Woodcut initials in the text. Pages with some browning, foxing, and halos. In old books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pages: (2), 176, (2).

Full title and author
The facts about Romani
1546.
Lucio Anneo Floro

Context and Significance
The Epitome of Floro is one of the most influential syntheses of Roman history, constructed as a strongly ideological and moral narrative, in which Rome is depicted as a living organism destined to be born, grow, dominate, and ultimately decline. The translation into the vernacular responds to a typically Renaissance need: to spread historical and political models outside the academic and clerical spheres, making them tools for civic education. In this context, Rome becomes a paradigm of both republican and imperial virtues, but also a warning against corruption and the loss of foundational values, fully aligned with the Italian political debate of the 16th century. The work thus fits into the broader humanistic project of historical education through the living language.

Biography of the Author
Lucius Annaeus Florus was active between the late 1st and early 2nd century AD. A Roman historian and rhetorician, he is known almost exclusively for the Epitome of Titus Livy, a work that not only summarizes Livy's monumental history but also reinterprets it from an ideological and rhetorical perspective. His brilliant, concise, and highly figurative style made the text one of the most widespread tools for understanding Roman history during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, especially in educational contexts.

Printing history and circulation
The vulgar translations of Floro experienced broad and continuous dissemination throughout the 16th century, particularly in Italy, where the lay and political public showed a growing interest in Roman history as a repository of civic examples. The 1546 edition fits into this period of intense circulation of classical historical texts in translation, often reprinted, adapted, and reformulated to meet the needs of an increasingly vast and diverse audience.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES

ICCU – Central Institute for the Single Catalog, SBN OPAC. Presence of multiple records related to sixteenth-century vulgar editions of the Epitome by Floro, with various typographical variants and different editorial attributions; inventories distributed among state libraries and Italian historical collections.

EDIT16, CNCE. Registration of the Italian editions of the 16th century attributed to 'De fatti de Romani,' with attestations of anonymous vulgar translations and variations of the title page and collation.

British Library Catalogue. Examples of sixteenth-century editions of Florus in translation or adaptation in the vernacular preserved in the collections of classical history and humanistic studies.

WorldCat. International censuses of 16th-century editions of the Epitome by Floro, including translations into Italian vernacular and historical adaptations intended for a lay audience.

Adams, H. M., Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501–1600. Registration of the historical editions of Florus and their Renaissance translations.

Reynolds, L. D., Texts and Transmission. A Survey of the Latin Classics. Analysis of the textual transmission of Floro's work and its medieval and Renaissance fortune.

Burke, P., The Italian Renaissance. Contextualization of the dissemination of classical historical texts in vernacular translation as tools for civic and political education.