Piccolomini - Institution Morale - 1569

To Establish Man, To Discipline the Soul, To Govern the City: Piccolomini Between Civil Ethics and Renaissance Reason
Alessandro Piccolomini's Moral Institution is one of the most ambitious and coherent texts of Renaissance ethics in the vernacular, conceived as a tool for forming the civil person even before a philosophical treatise. In the twelve books that make up the work, Piccolomini builds an orderly, accessible, and rigorous moral system, capable of translating the Aristotelian tradition into a language suited to concrete life, to politics, and to individual responsibility. The Venetian edition of 1569, revised and enlarged by the author, returns the text to its mature form, confirming its central role in the humanistic project of ethical and civic education in early-modern Italy.
Market value
In the market for 16th-century philosophical and moral books in the vernacular language, this edition of Institutione morale generally sits between 500 and 900 euros, with variations tied to the state of the binding, the completeness of the fascicles, and the quality of the printing. Collated and complete specimens, even if with structural defects consistent with use and the volume’s history, remain sought after for the importance of the work and for Piccolomini’s role in the diffusion of philosophical knowledge in Italian.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary parchment binding, detached; some gatherings loose; last gathering detached but present; defects and restorations. Printer's mark on the title page, woodcut initials. Browning and foxing; some woodworm holes and small tears. In old books, with a history spanning several centuries, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. pp. 32 et seq.; 560.

Full title and author
On Moral Instruction, Book XII.
Venice, at the house of Giordano Ziletti, 1569.
Mr. Alessandro Piccolomini.

Context and Significance
The Moral Institution was born as a rewriting and enlargement of Piccolomini's youth work, revised in light of a more mature philosophical and political reflection. The text aims to guide the individual in forming virtues, from personal ethics to the public dimension, according to a model that integrates Aristotle, the humanistic tradition, and the historical experience of the present. Piccolomini renounces Latin to adopt the vernacular, in line with his project of democratizing knowledge, making moral philosophy accessible to a broader audience and directly involved in civic life. The work is distinguished by its expository clarity, its systematic structure, and its attention to praxis, placing it among the fundamental texts of Italian Renaissance ethics.

Biography of the Author
Alessandro Piccolomini was born in Siena in 1508 and died in 1578. He was a philosopher, astronomer, playwright, translator, and member of the Accademia degli Intronati. He taught in Padua and distinguished himself as one of the leading promoters of scientific and philosophical knowledge in the vernacular, with the aim of making it accessible to those who did not know Latin. He is the author of the first modern celestial atlas and of numerous moral, scientific, and literary works that enjoyed wide diffusion in the sixteenth century.

Printing history and circulation
Printed in Venice by Giordano Ziletti in 1569, this edition represents one of the main printings of the work, destined for wide circulation in the Italian context. The Venetian choice ensured widespread dissemination of the text, which was read and used as a manual of moral and civic formation well beyond the academic sphere.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN
WorldCat
National Library of France
E. Garin, Italian Humanism
C. Vasoli, The Philosophy of the Renaissance
Studies on Alessandro Piccolomini and Ethics in the Vernacular.