AA.VV. - Biblia Sacra - 1732

ILLUSTRATED HOLY BIBLE WITH HUNDREDS OF FIGURES
This Venetian edition of the 1732 Vulgate Bible, printed by Nicolo Pezzana, represents a perfect synthesis between typographic tradition, devotion, and visual culture. It is not only a sacred text but a publishing object built to guide the reader through images, apparatus, and textual structures organized. The numerous woodcuts, placed at the beginning of the biblical books, translate the sacred narrative into visual sequences, making Scripture accessible for a more immediate and meditative use. It is a Bible designed to be read, consulted, and contemplated: a religious device but also pedagogical.
MARKET VALUE
Venetian Bibles of the 18th century, especially illustrated and in contemporary binding, present a stable market. Exemplars in average condition range from 500 to 700 euros; copies well preserved, with complete iconographic apparatus and intact binding, can reach 900 euros.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Beautiful and sturdy contemporary full leather binding with a gold-decorated ribbed spine; red edges. Frontispiece allegorical engraving and numerous woodcuts in the text accompanying the biblical books. Text set in two columns, inner pages with physiological browning, some stains and signs of use. In old books, with centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 24nn; 964; 52nn; (4).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Biblia Sacra.
Venetiis, apud Nicolaum Pezzana, 1732.
AA.VV.

CONTEXT
This edition follows the official text of the Vulgate established during the pontificates of Sixtus V and Clement VIII, becoming the normative standard for the Catholic Church after the Council of Trent. In the 18th century Venice remained one of the main European printing centers, and Pezzana was among the most active publishers of religious works. The iconographic apparatus reflects a long tradition of illustrated Bibles, in which imagery plays a fundamental role in understanding and meditating the sacred text. The introductory vignettes to the prophetic and historical books testify to an iconographic continuity rooted in the 16th and 17th centuries.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Not applicable: the biblical text is canonical tradition. The edition follows the Latin Vulgate established under Pope Sixtus V (1521–1590) and revised under Clement VIII (1536–1605), the official basis of the Catholic Bible for centuries.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Venetian editions of the Vulgate were produced in large quantities between the 17th and 18th centuries, intended for both the clergy and an educated lay public. Nicolò Pezzana was one of the leading Venetian printers of the 18th century, known for the quality and diffusion of his religious editions. The presence of illustrated apparatus increased the commercial value and usability of the volume.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
ICCU/OPAC SBN, record for Biblia Sacra, Venetiis, Pezzana, 1732
EDIT16 (for Venetian editorial tradition preceding)
Marble Library Catalogues of Venice
Repositories of Latin bibles printed (17th–18th century)
Studies on the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate and its typographic diffusion