Flacco / Pio - [Post Incunable] Flacci Commentarii - 1519

THE UNFINISHED MYTH OF THE ARGONAUTS - THE AMBITION TO COMPLETE THE LOST POEM
Rare edition of great philological interest of Valerius Flaccus’ Argonauticae, printed in Bologna in 1519, enriched by the extensive commentary of the humanist Giovanni Battista Pio and by his Latin translation of Book IV of Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica, inserted to ideally fill the interruption of Flaccus’ poem. The volume bears witness to one of the most significant moments of Italian humanistic philology, when the classical text is not only the object of critical restitution but also of creative integration and completion. The typographic arrangement with the poetic text framed by the Latin and Greek commentary reflects the encyclopedic ambition of the edition, conceived as a tool for study and advanced erudition.
MARKET VALUE
Commented sixteenth-century editions of Latin authors, especially when enriched with complex humanist apparatus and printed in centers such as Bologna, are consistently sought after. Complete copies in good condition typically fall in a range between 2,000 and 5,000 euros, with possible increases for copies that are especially fresh or with notable provenance.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
In old folio (302 x 203 mm); 2 parts in 1 volume; pages: [4], CLXXXIX, [1]; [24]. Printer’s device on page CLXXXIX. Poetic text framed by the commentary in Latin and Greek; variant of the edition with final index. Light restorations to the second leaf and to the margin of page LXXIII; a few small worm holes due to iron gall ink from the postilæ; other minor marginal defects. Back binding in vellum with gilt title on a flat spine label. Some marginal Latin postilæ in contemporary handwriting.
In old books, with a long history, there may be some imperfections or minor defects not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
C. Valerii Flacci Commentarii Pio Bononiensi auctore ... et Orpheo latino.
Bononiae, Hieronymus Benedictus, 1519.
Gaius Valerius Flaccus;
Commentary by Giovanni Battista Pio.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Valerius Flaccus, a Latin poet of the 1st century AD, author of the Argonautica in eight books, reworks the Greek myth of Jason’s expedition to recover the Golden Fleece. The work, interrupted at Book VIII, remained unfinished. In the height of the Renaissance, Giovanni Battista Pio intervenes with an extensive and learned commentary, based on philological expertise and knowledge of Greek, and adds the Latin translation of Book IV of Apollonius Rhodius, creating a direct dialogue between Greek and Latin tradition. The 1519 edition reflects the Renaissance tension toward restauratio textus and, at the same time, toward the creative integration of classical heritage, establishing itself as a true laboratory of applied philology.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Gaius Valerius Flaccus lived in the 1st century AD, probably under the Flavian principate. His Argonauticae, inspired by Apollonius Rhodius and the Virgilian epic tradition, represents one of the major epic poems of the Latin imperial era.

Giovanni Battista Pio (circa 1460–1540), a Bologna-based humanist, was a teacher and commentator of classical texts, known for his erudite breadth and for the systematic use of Greek sources. His work on Valerius Flaccus constitutes one of the most significant contributions of Italian philology in the early Cinquecento.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printed in Bologna by Girolamo Benedetti in 1519, the edition sits within the lively Emilia typographic milieu, characterized by productions aimed at an academic and cultivated audience. Variants with or without a final index are known. The bilingual Latin-Greek apparatus and the integration of the Apollonius text made it a reference point in Renaissance humanistic studies of the 16th century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16, CNCE (Valerius Flaccus, Bologna 1519).
ICCU / OPAC SBN, records relating to the Bologna edition of 1519.
USTC, Bononiae 1519 edition.
Studies on Giovanni Battista Pio and early Cinquecento Bologna philology.