Segni - Storie Fiorentine - 1763

Secret Stories of a Republic, or Florence Told by Those Who Knew It Well
The Florentine Histories by Bernardo Segni constitute one of the most lucid and disenchanted political chronicles of the Italian sixteenth century, written by an eyewitness to the power balances of the Republic of Florence at the moment of its definitive crisis. The Augusta edition of 1723 presents, in solemn and typographically elegant form, a text that is not mere historical narration, but a moral reflection on the fragility of republican institutions, on the violence of history, and on the illusion of civil liberty. The inclusion of the Life of Niccolò Capponi strengthens the exemplary dimension of the work, transforming the chronicle into a true political theatre of virtue and failure.
Market value
In the international market for Italian historical works from the early eighteenth century, this edition of Storie fiorentine generally sits in a price range between 700 and 1,200 euros, with significant variations tied to the parchment’s condition, the freshness of the impression, and the volume’s completeness. Folio copies well preserved, with a clearly printed title page in red and black and a spine with a legible title, tend to fall at the high end of the range, especially if they come from historical collections or are accompanied by contemporary bindings.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary binding in stiff parchment, gold title on the spine, with slight defects and signs of use. Eyelet, title page printed in red and black, headpieces, initials and final initials woodcut. Present folded plate with the portrait of Niccolò Capponi. Some foxing and browning. In old books, with a centuries-long history, there may be some imperfections, not always detected in the description. Pp. (2); 12 nn; 384; 48 nn; 42; 4 nn; (2).

Full title and author
Florentine Stories of Messer Bernardo Segni.
Augusta, at the house of David Raimondo Mertz and Gio. Jacopo Majer, 1723.
Bernardo Segni.

Context and Significance
Florentine Stories cover one of the most dramatic periods in Florence's history, from the siege of 1529–1530 to the definitive affirmation of the Medici principate. Bernardo Segni writes both from within and as an outsider, with a gaze that unites chronicle precision and political disillusion. The text is distinguished by its attention to the internal mechanisms of power, to factions, to the ambiguities of republican virtue, and to the gradual emptying of civic institutions. The Life of Niccolò Capponi, emblematic figure of Florentine republicanism, functions as a moral counterpoint to the historical narrative: Capponi appears as a model of political integrity destined inevitably to defeat. The Augusta edition of 1723, aimed at a discerning European audience, marks the eighteenth-century canonization of Segni as civil historian and political moralist.

Biography of the Author
Bernardo Segni (1504–1558) was a Florentine historian, writer, and statesman. Active in the public life of the Republic, he shared its fortunes and its exile after the Medici returned. His historical works are distinguished by their sober style and the moral tension that runs through the narration, placing him among the leading civil historians of the Italian Renaissance.

Printing history and circulation
The Florentine Histories circulated initially in manuscript form and enjoyed growing editorial success between the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Centuries, especially outside Italy, where they were read as a paradigmatic example of the political events of Renaissance republics. The Augsburg edition of 1723, printed by Mertz and Majer, fits into the German editorial tradition attentive to Italian historiography, characterized by solid printing, good-quality paper, and a sober yet authoritative typographical apparatus.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN: IT\ICCU\RMLE\000000
WorldCat
National Library of France
G. Villani – M. Segni, Florentine historiographical tradition
A. Momigliano, Essays on Italian Historiography
E. Garin, Politics and Culture in the Renaissance
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