Sperone Speroni - Orationi - 1596

Rhetoric and Dignity of the Vernacular in Sperone Speroni’s Oratorical Art
Initials rubricated and hand-painted in red and blue. The Orations of Sperone Speroni, published in Venice in 1596, represent the most complete synthesis of the oratorical activity of one of the leading Italian intellectuals of the sixteenth century. A posthumous and definitive collection, the work transforms the public word into a tool of moral, political, and cultural authority, capable of moving with awareness between the academy, the court, and the civic space. In these orations the humanistic ideal of the orator-philosopher takes shape, in which eloquence and thought fuse into a solemn, measured, and highly ritualized prose. The 1596 edition, edited by Ippolito Conti, fixes the Speronian oratorical corpus and sanctions its canonical reception, delivering to the press a model of public speech conceived as a civic gesture and a form of governance of discourse.
Market value
In the antiquarian market, the first and only edition of Sperone Speroni's Orations generally ranges between 1,500 and 2,500 euros, with significant variations tied to the condition of the papers, the quality of the binding, and the presence of original decorative elements. Complete copies, bound in contemporary parchment with rubricated initials and hand-painted capitals, are particularly valued by collectors for their material and testimonial significance.

Physical description and condition
Initials rubricated and hand-painted in red and blue. Contemporary parchment binding, spine with six raised bands and manuscript title. Frontispiece with the woodcut publisher's mark of the Meietti in a figurative frame depicting two roosters, one of which pecks kernels of corn, at the center a plant with ears; motto: non comedetis fruges mendacii. The text adorned with woodcut initials, rubricated initials and hand-painted in red and blue, with interventions that give the volume a semi-manuscript dimension, typical of editions destined for an educated and institutional audience. Woodcut adornments in the text. Also present is the woodcut mark of G. Alberti at the end of leaf 2D4v, in a figurative frame with the Sibyl holding an open book and the motto Sibylla. Presence of damp stains. In ancient books, with a long, multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 8 ll.; 216.

Full title and author
Orations by Mr. Speron Speroni, a Doctor and Knight of Padua. Again brought to light.
Venetia, at Ruberto Meietti, 1596.
Sperone Speroni.

Context and Significance
The Orations constitute a central document of late-Renaissance rhetorical culture. Speroni, a key figure of the Academy of the Infiammati and protagonist of the debate on language and the dignity of the vernacular, uses the oration as a form of public intervention and a tool for building consensus. The speeches, moral, celebratory and political, show a deep awareness of the social function of the word, understood not as a mere stylistic exercise but as a regulating act of civil life. The dedication to Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, makes explicit the link between intellectuals and princely power and places the work in the context of the cultural legitimation strategies of Italian courts at the end of the sixteenth century.

Biography of the Author
Sperone Speroni was born in Padua in 1500 and died there in 1588. A philosopher, writer, and polemicist, he was among the most authoritative proponents of the vernacular as the language of philosophy, science, and public discourse. His works, ranging from philosophical dialogue to linguistic treatises and oratory, exerted a lasting influence on Italian prose and thought in the 16th century.

Printing history and circulation
The Venetian edition of 1596 represents the first and only printed collection of Speroni’s orations, edited by Ippolito Conti, as indicated in the preface on c. πA3r. Printed by Ruberto Meietti, a printer active in the dissemination of humanist and scholarly texts, the work had a selective yet significant circulation among the educated, academic, and court circles of northern Italy. The presence of rubricated initial capitals and hand-painted decorations testifies to a prestigious editorial destination, in keeping with the authoritative and ceremonial character of the text.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Pozzi, Sperone Speroni and the Culture of the Sixteenth Century.
Garin, Italian Humanism.
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, 1501–1600.
WorldCat, inventories of the editions of Sperone Speroni.