Venni - Gesta del Beato Odorico - 1761

THE FRANCISCAN CONTEMPLATED ASIA: ODORICO OF PORDENONE BETWEEN Hagiography AND ADVENTURE
The historical Eulogy of the feats of blessed Odorico of the Franciscan Minorite order, by Giuseppe Antonio Venni, printed in Venice in 1761 by Antonio Zatta, represents one of the most significant eighteenth-century reworkings of the figure of Odorico of Pordenone, missionary and Franciscan traveler of the early fourteenth century. The work intertwines the hagiographic register with the narrative of the Asian journey dictated by Odorico himself, yielding a complex portrait in which sanctity is joined to the direct experience of the East. The volume is fully situated within the historical-antiquarian culture of eighteenth-century Venice, which looks to the great medieval travels as an authoritative prehistory of global knowledge.
MARKET VALUE
In the antique market, the eighteenth-century folio editions of the Eulogy of the deeds of blessed Odorico, complete with the plates and in good general condition, generally fetch a price range between EUR 700 and EUR 1,000. The presence of the cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli’s coat of arms on the title page and the rarity of the work contribute to sustaining collector interest, while the absence of the portrait of the blessed, as in the case of this copy, can moderately affect the valuation.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary half-binding in plain cardboard. Coat of arms of the dedicatee, Cardinal Lorenzo Ganganelli (later Pope Clement XIV), engraved on the title page. Three folded plates; the portrait of the blessed Odorico is missing. Copy with foxing. The pages show some foxing. In old books, with a long history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 8; 152; (2).
FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Elogio storico alle gesta del beato Odorico dell’ordine de’ minori conventuali con la storia da lui dettata de’ suoi viaggj asiatici.
Venice, Published by Antonio Zatta, 1761.
Giuseppe Antonio Venni.
CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Venni’s work aligns with the eighteenth-century tradition of rediscovering the great medieval travelers, read not only as religious figures but as privileged witnesses of distant worlds. Odorico da Pordenone’s itinerarium, here reissued and contextualized, is one of the most extraordinary texts of premodern travel literature. Departing around 1318 as a Franciscan missionary, Odorico crossed Trebizond, Erzurum, Homs and Baghdad, then pushed as far as Ceylon, Canton and finally Peking, where he was received by Emperor Yesün Temür Khan, great-grandson of Kublai Khan, also known for his contacts with Marco Polo. On his return journey he visited Tibet and became the first European to enter Lhasa, before returning to Persia and thus to Italy. The text preserves exceptional historical and ethnographic value, offering one of the first European descriptions of central and eastern Asia.
BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giuseppe Antonio Venni was a erudite and historian active in the eighteenth century, author of works of historical-religious and hagiographic character. His activity is set within the Venetian culture of the Enlightenment, attentive to the rediscovery of medieval sources and their valorization through a critical and narrative apparatus in keeping with the tastes of the time.
PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed by Antonio Zatta, one of the most important Venetian publishers of the eighteenth century, the work had a limited but qualified circulation, intended for convent libraries, erudite collections, and high-level ecclesiastical settings. The choice of folio format and the iconographic apparatus confirm the celebratory and monumental aim of the edition.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU/OPAC SBN: edition card Venice, Antonio Zatta, 1761. Brunet, Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres, sections devoted to travel literature and hagiography. Cordier, Bibliotheca Sinica, for the tradition of Franciscan travels in Asia. Studies on Odorico da Pordenone and on medieval travel literature.