Remondini / Piazzetta - Divozioni - 1751

BELLA REMONDINIANA - DIVINE DISCIPLINE AND SECRET PLEASURES: WHEN FAITH BECOMES ART
This Venetian Remondini of 1751, seemingly intended for daily practice of Christian devotion, actually reveals a much more complex cultural stratification: it is an object of piety, but also a refined editorial product, destined to circulate in a cultivated domestic context sensitive to the aesthetic dimension of the sacred. Piazzetta’s engraving introduces a visually strong, almost theatrical element, which transforms spiritual exercise into a sensory experience. The book thus sits at the intersection of religious discipline, moral pedagogy, and the Venetian figurative culture of the eighteenth century, becoming testimony to an intimate, everyday use of religion.
MARKET VALUE
For similar Venetian copies from the Remondini print shop, portable in format and with engraved apparatus, the market typically ranges from 450 to 700 euros, with higher peaks (up to 900–1,200 euros) for contemporaneous bound copies that are well preserved and with sharp, complete engravings.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Contemporary full brown leather binding, dry-stamped and gilt with a rich phytomorphic border and ornate corners; signs of wear, but structure still legible and decoratively interesting. Interior with typographically engraved title page with a figurative vignette signed “Piazzetta del.”; numerous full-page illustrations. In old books with a multi-century history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 404; [2]; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Divotions, or Sacred Exercises to be Practiced by Every Christian Faithful, with a distinct vulgar explanation of the offices, and many other devout prayers. In Venice, MDCCLI (1751). At the Remondini Press.
AA. VV.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
This type of devotional manual belongs to a vast publishing tradition that, between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, aimed to make religious practice accessible and everyday. The use of the vulgar (vernacular) is central: it democratizes liturgy and brings the believer closer to a direct understanding of the rites. The presence of the engraving attributed to Piazzetta (or his circle) introduces a typically Venetian element: the sacred filtered through a dramatic, almost sensuous painting sensibility. The Remondini, large producers and disseminators of popular prints and devotional books, embody this fusion of cultural industry and spirituality perfectly. The book thus becomes an hybrid object: moral guide, meditation instrument, and aesthetic artifact.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
An anonymous work, as is often the case for devotional manuals of wide diffusion. However, the context is that of ecclesiastical and para-ecclesiastical Venetian production in the eighteenth century, in which theologians and compilers reworked liturgical texts and practices of piety for a broad audience. The publisher, however, is fundamental: the Remondini family of Bassano del Grappa, active since the seventeenth century, was one of the most important European typography centers for producing images and popular texts.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The Remondini print shop developed a capillary distribution network throughout Europe, making these little books tools of devotion diffused in domestic and rural settings. The “Divozioni” with varying titles and contents were reprinted several times, adapting to pastoral and linguistic needs. The 1751 edition sits within this serial production but of high quality, often enriched by engraving vignettes that increased its appeal.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16/ICCU (for related editions and Remondini production of the eighteenth century, records to verify for a specific issue 1751)
OPAC SBN – catalogs of Italian libraries (search for “Divozioni esercizi sacri Remondini 1751”)
Morazzoni, G., Remondini: a publisher of the eighteenth century, Milan, 1953, pp. 45–78
Infelise, M., Venetian publishing in the eighteenth century, in History of publishing in Italy, Bari, pp. 201–230
Griffiths, A., Prints and Printmaking, London, 1996, for context on popular engraving production.