Tasso - Goffredo - 1581

THE MOST FAMOUS CHIVALRIC ROMANCE IN THE VENETIAN PAPERBACK EDITION
Paperback edition and practical use of La Gerusalemme liberata, this Goffredo by Torquato Tasso testifies to the extraordinary editorial fortune of the poem in the second half of the 16th century. Far from grand representative editions, the volume presents itself as a living object, intended for daily reading, study, and private circulation. The manuscript traces and the wear of the binding tell a concrete story of use, restoring the text of Tassas in its most authentic dimension: not a distant monument, but a reading companion.
MARKET VALUE
Late-16th-century Venetian editions of Goffredo di Tasso in a manageable format generally lie between 500 and 700 euros; copies with contemporary binding and signs of genuine use can maintain good collector interest.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Frontispiece with a figurative woodcut mark (“Salus Vitae”), restored with minimal loss of text. Text in italic type arranged in two columns. Contemporary full parchment limp binding with manuscript title on the spine (“Tasso Goffre…”). Copy with evident signs of use. Internally pages with browning, stains and ancient handwritten annotations on the frontispiece. Overall an intact and readable copy. In old books, with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 24nn; 112; 24; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Il Goffredo del S. Torquato Tasso.
Venetia, appresso Gratioso Perchacino, 1581.
Torquato Tasso.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
La Gerusalemme liberata, published for the first time in 1581, represents one of the peaks of Italian literature and Renaissance epic poetry. The Goffredo — the title by which the work often circulated in early editions — emphasizes the figure of the protagonist Goffredo di Buglione, making the poem more immediately accessible to a broad public.
Venetian editions like this one testify to the very rapid diffusion of the text and its transformation into a contemporary classic, read, commented on, and used also in educational contexts. The inclusion of topics and allegories reflects the aim of guiding the reader toward the moral and symbolic understanding of the poem.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Torquato Tasso (1544–1595), one of the greatest poets of the Italian Renaissance, was the author of La Gerusalemme liberata, a masterpiece of Christian epic. His life, marked by instability and personal difficulties, contributed to shaping his image as a tormented poet. The work achieved extraordinary success and widespread diffusion across Europe.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The early editions of La Gerusalemme liberata appeared in 1581, with several contemporaneous printings in various Italian cities, including Venice. The Gratioso Perchacino edition fits into this context of rapid and broad diffusion. The text was reprinted countless times between the 16th and 17th centuries, becoming one of the most read and studied books of the era.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU / OPAC SBN: copies of Tasso, La Gerusalemme liberata, Venice 1581 (Perchacino)
EDIT16: entries related to the Venetian editions of 1581
WorldCat: Tasso, Torquato – Il Goffredo, Venice 1581
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe, T-152
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares, VI, p. 24
Cataloghi di biblioteche italiane (Venice, Florence, Rome)