Gregorio XIII - Statuta Almae Urbis Romae - 1580

THE GREAT LEGAL CODE OF PONTIFICAL ROME AFTER THE COUNTER-REFORM
Important official edition of the Statutes of the City of Rome printed at the Tipografia del Popolo Romano in 1580 during the pontificate of Gregory XIII, accompanied by the collection of immunities, privileges and favors granted by the popes to the city and to the Roman Studio. It is one of the most significant monuments of municipal and canon law in Counter-Reformation Rome, intended for use by the city magistracies, jurists, and papal institutions. The copy preserves in full the rare first part of the Statutes, while the second part is mutilated in the final section.
WHY TO BUY
* Official edition of the Statutes of the City of Rome promulgated under Gregory XIII.
* Printed by the Tipografia del Popolo Romano, reserved for institutional acts.
* Fundamental source for the study of municipal and canonical law of the Papal State.
* Testimony to the administrative reorganization of post-Tridentine Rome.
* First part complete and fully preserved.
* Work of great interest for collectors of law, Roman history, and papal institutions.

MARKET VALUE
Complete copies of this edition are uncommon on the antique market and are sought after by specialized libraries, scholars, and collectors of legal texts. Complete copies normally fetch values between €2,000 and €5,000, with higher bids for copies of particular quality or provenance. The mutilation of the second part affects the commercial value of the specimen, while leaving intact the main section of the work, which constitutes the normative core of the Statutes.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
In-folio (327 × 220 mm). Rome, in the houses of the Roman People, 1580. Recent binding in rustic card with spine clad in colored paper. The first part, containing the Statuta Almae Urbis Romae, has some index leaves reproduced in italics by an ancient hand. The second part, titled Gratiae, Immunitates & Facultates per Summos Romanos Pontifices Almae Urbi Romae Populoque Romano concessae, is preserved up to p. 86 and is mutilated of the final leaves. Normal browning, a few stains and signs of use consistent with the practical purpose of the work; overall good condition.
Collation of the copy: [20], 210, [6]; 86 pp.
In old books, with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Statuta Almae Urbis Romae. Accedunt Gratiae, Immunitates et Facultates per Summos Romanos Pontifices Almae Urbi Romae Populoque Romano concessae.
Romae, In Aedibus Populi Romani, 1580.
AA. VV.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Statutes of Rome constituted the main body of law for the capital of the Papal State, regulating the organization of magistracies, civil and criminal justice, commerce, corporations, taxation, and numerous aspects of public life. Although deriving from the medieval municipal tradition, they were progressively adapted to strengthen papal power, until becoming one of the pillars of the administration of modern Rome. The 1580 edition sits within the grand program of reforms promoted by Gregory XIII after the Council of Trent and represents the normative text of reference in the years immediately preceding the profound administrative transformations introduced by Sixtus V. The second part gathers bulls, privileges, immunities and exemptions granted by the popes to the city, its magistrates, religious institutions, and the Roman Studio, offering an exceptionally rich picture of privileged law in papal Rome.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
The Statutes are not the work of a single author but result from the centuries-long normative development of the Roman Senate and the city magistracies, later approved and confirmed by the authority of the popes. They attest to the peculiar fusion between medieval municipal law and papal law that characterized Rome in the 16th and 17th centuries.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
Printing was entrusted to the Tipografia del Popolo Romano, official workshop in charge of publishing the city’s principal legislative and administrative provisions. Print runs were limited and intended mainly for courts, notaries, lawyers, papal officials, and lecturers of the Roman Studio. The daily use to which these volumes were subjected explains the rarity of complete and well-preserved copies; the second part containing privileges and immunities is frequently missing or incomplete.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
EDIT16.
ICCU – Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale.
Adams, Catalogue of Books Printed on the Continent of Europe.
Moroni, Dizionario di erudizione storico-ecclesiastica.
Treccani, entries "Statuti", "Roma", "Stato Pontificio".
Schupfer, Il diritto romano nel Medioevo.