Palatius - Aquila Franca - 1679

IN FOLIO - A LUXURIOUS ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE FRANKISH EMPERORS - GENEALOGY, COATS OF ARMS AND COINS
Magnificent historical-iconographic work of full Venetian Baroque, dedicated to the emperors of the Frankish or Salian dynasty and to the passage up to Louis II.
The volume unites imperial history, genealogy, heraldry, numismatics, law and political symbolism in a spectacular celebratory construction of imperial power. Palazzi does not merely narrate the sovereigns’ fortunes, but reconstructs the continuity of imperial authority through portraits, coats of arms, coins, deeds, symbols and documents, turning the book into a true paper museum of the Holy Roman Empire. The richly illustrated apparatus includes numerous copperplate engravings in the text devoted to the emperors, the princes and the dynastic iconography, with the contribution of important engravers active in 17th-century Venice, among whom Arnold van Westerhout. The title page printed in red and black and the large format give the work a strong visual impact.

WHY TO BUY
GRANDE IN FOLIO SECENTESCO! A spectacular illustrated history of the Holy Roman Empire in full Baroque.
EMPERORES, COATS OF ARMS AND COINS! A true paper museum of imperial sovereignty.
FRANCONIAN DYNASTY! Charles II and the Salian emperors in one of the crucial periods of the clash between Empire and Papacy.
RICHLY ILLUSTRATED CALCOGRAPHIC APPARATUS! Portraits, heraldry, numismatics and political symbolism in a great 17th-century volume.

MARKET VALUE
L’Aquila Franca holds solid interest for collectors of imperial history, heraldry, genealogy, numismatics and 17th-century illustrated books. The value depends mainly on the completeness of the illustrative apparatus, the freshness of the sheets and the quality of binding. For a complete copy in good overall condition, a retail value in the range of €1,000-1,400 seems realistic, with potential for higher offers for copies particularly fresh, complete and well preserved in antique, high-prestige bindings.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION
Pp. (2), 2 nn., 342, (2). Frontispiece printed in red and black. Numerous copperplate illustrations in the text, with portraits, coats of arms, coins, deeds and other motifs related to the history and symbolism of the Holy Roman Empire. Pages 263-264 are numerically repeated, a characteristic of the edition and not a defect of the copy. Recent binding in editorial cardboard. Some browning, foxing and normal signs of time on the sheets. An interesting copy of this grand Baroque historical-iconographic work. As with all antique volumes, slight defects or restorations not expressly mentioned are possible.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Giovanni Palazzi, latinized Johannes Palatius (1640-1703).
Aquila Franca.
Venetiis: ex Typographia Andreae Poleti, 1679.
Quarto volume of the Monarchia Occidentalis.
Pp. (2), 2 nn., 342, (2).
With numerous copperplate engravings in the text.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giovanni Palazzi (1640-1703), latinized Johannes Palatius, was an ecclesiastic, historian, jurist and scholar active in the Venetian milieu of the second half of the 17th century. Linked to the Padua scholarly culture, he devoted himself to studies of canon law, ecclesiastical history and political history, with particular attention to the transmission of imperial authority and the genealogy of the great European dynasties. The Monarchia Occidentalis represents his most ambitious project: a vast visual history of the Western Empire in which the succession of sovereigns is reconstructed through biographies, genealogies, documents, symbols, coins and heraldic apparatus. Palazzi fully belongs to the Baroque scholarly culture, which conceived history not merely as a chronological narrative but as a collection and interpretation of material and iconographic testimonies. His works are therefore especially interesting for their ability to integrate political history, law, numismatics and heraldry into a single grand celebratory project.

RARITY
L’Aquila Franca is not a very common title on the antique market, especially when complete with the illustrated apparatus. Published in Venice in 1679 by Andrea Poleti, it constitutes the fourth volume of Giovanni Palazzi’s vast Monarchia Occidentalis, yet it possesses its own bibliographic and thematic autonomy. The serial structure of Monarchia Occidentalis has led over time to the dispersion of individual volumes, but each Aquila has its own title page and a precise historical subject, a feature that allows full bibliographic and collectible autonomy. Especially desirable are complete copies of the numerous engravings, since portraits, coats of arms and numismatic plates could be separated or mutilated. The combination of large format, rich illustrative apparatus and imperial subject matter makes the volume particularly interesting for collections focused on the Holy Roman Empire, heraldry and the illustrated history of the 17th century.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
L’Aquila Franca is a notably representative example of Baroque political-encyclopedic culture. Palazzi uses image as a tool for interpreting history: portraits, genealogies, coats of arms, symbols, coins, privileges and documents participate in constructing imperial memory and in portraying the continuity of imperial power. The tome is dedicated to the Salian or Frankish dynasty, initiated with Conrad II, elected King of the Romans in 1024 and crowned emperor in 1027, and traverses one of the most delicate phases of medieval European history, marked by the long conflict between Empire and Papacy. The volume is therefore an interesting source not only for political history, but also for understanding how, in the 17th century, imperial authority was interpreted and visualized through symbols, genealogies and dynastic iconography. The illustrated apparatus constitutes an integral part of the intellectual project and turns the book into a true repertory of sovereignty culture in Baroque Europe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Giovanni Palazzi, Aquila Franca, Venice, Andrea Poleti, 1679.
Giovanni Palazzi, Monarchia Occidentalis, historical-genealogical series dedicated to Western emperors.
Graesse, Trésor de livres rares et précieux, V, 104.
Piantanida, Autori italiani del ’600, nn. 483-485.
Bibliographic catalogs devoted to the history of the Holy Roman Empire, heraldry and 17th-century numismatics.
Historical catalogs of the main European libraries relating to Monarchia Occidentalis and Aquila Franca.