Lippi - Malmantile Racquistato - 1779

War, heroes, and squabbles: The epic dismantled with Tuscan slang.
This 1779 edition of Malmantile Rinnovato by Lorenzo Lippi marks the full eighteenth-century canonization of one of the absolute masterpieces of Italian heroic-comic poetry. Printed in London and marketed in Livorno by Gio. Tommasi and Compagni, the work testifies to the international circulation of Italian literature and the role of major trading centers in disseminating its classics. The poem, accompanied by the 'Compendio della vita dell’autore' and an engraved portrait, is now read as a mature literary text, no longer merely as a burlesque entertainment but as a refined linguistic and satirical exercise, deeply rooted in the Tuscan tradition.
Market value
Complete 18th-century editions of Malmantile racquistato, with engraved portrait and paratextual apparatus, generally fall within a market range of 1,200 to 1,800 euros. The combination of London printing and Livorno distribution, along with good preservation, increases collector interest.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary in full rigid parchment binding, smooth spine with ancient handwritten title. Parchment with halos, stains, and signs of use. Engraved frontispiece, engraved portrait of Lorenzo Lippi on the frontispiece. Pages with some browning and foxing. In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 24nn; 320; (2).

Full title and author
Malmantile conquered.
London, 1779.
Lorenzo Lippi

Context and Significance
Il Malmantile racquistato occupies a central position in Italian heroic-epic tradition, alongside Tassoni's Secchia rapita, but with an even more marked linguistic and experimental complexity. Lippi constructs a poem that parodies chivalric epic through a skillful use of Tuscan dialect, caricature, and cultured allusion. In the eighteenth century, the work is reinterpreted as a classic of language and literature, worthy of biographical and iconographic apparatus, and intended for an international educated audience.

Biography of the Author
Lorenzo Lippi was born in Florence in 1606 and died in 1665. Painter and poet, he was a student of Matteo Rosselli and a member of the Academy of the Apatists. The Malmantile Reclaimed, circulated for a long time in manuscript before printing, secured him lasting fame as a master of the heroic-comic and as an extraordinary experimenter of the Tuscan language.

Printing history and circulation
After the seventeenth-century editions, Malmantile experienced numerous reprints in the eighteenth century, often enriched with comments, the author's biographies, and portraits. The London edition of 1779, aimed at the Italian market through sales in Livorno, reflects the international publishing circuits of the time and the role of the port city as a commercial and cultural hub.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Tiraboschi, History of Italian Literature.
Getto, The heroicomic poem
Crane, Italian Baroque Burlesque Poetry
WorldCat, cataloging of the eighteenth-century editions of Malmantile racquistato.