Petrarca / Tomasini - Petrarcha Redivivus - 1635

FIRST EDITION – THE GREAT ILLUSTRATED BIOGRAPHY - 19 ENGRAVINGS ON THE LIFE AND PLACES OF PETRARCA
LAURA, ARQUÀ AND VALCHIOSA - THE HOUSE OF PETRARCA IN THE OLDEST KNOWN VIEW
First edition of the famous Petrarcha redivivus by Giacomo Filippo Tomasini, published in Padua in 1635, one of the most important sixteenth-century biographies of Francesco Petrarca and a fundamental work in shaping the literary and iconographic memory of the poet. Tomasini reconstructs Petrarca’s life through historical sources, antiquarian testimonies, biographical traditions and especially through the places linked to his existence, turning the volume into a true biography in pictures. The illustrated apparatus is particularly rich, present in this copy by 19 engravings including an allegorical frontispiece, portraits, letters, views and other illustrations dedicated to the life and Petrarchan places. Highly evocative is the frontispiece with Laura in the act of crowning Petrarch’s tomb, while in the background appears Valchiusa, a perfect visual synthesis of the Petrarchan myth. The volume also includes the Brevis Historia of Laura, making the Petrarca-Laura pair the center of a true historical-iconographic reconstruction. The copy is particularly desirable for the freshness of the paper, the wide margins preserved in hair-splits (barbe) and the presence of two ancient corrective postils on pp. 100-101.

WHY TO BUY
FIRST EDITION – PADUA 1635! The famous sixteenth-century biography of Francesco Petrarca.
19 ENGRAVINGS! Portraits, letters and views turn the volume into a true illustrated biography.
PETRARCA + LAURA + ARQUÀ + VALCHIOSA! All the Petrarchan myth gathered in one grand book.
IN BARBE! A fresh copy, with wide margins and strong collectible charm.

MARKET VALUE
The first edition of Petrarcha redivivus retains significant interest for collectors of Petrarca, Italian literature, iconography, Veneto local history and sixteenth-century illustrated books. The completeness of the visual apparatus is one of the main valuation elements, together with the freshness of the papers and the presence of untrimmed margins. For a complete copy of the 19 engravings, fresh and preserved in barbe, a retail value in the order of €1,200-1,500 seems realistic, with possible higher offers for copies of particular quality or provenance.

PHYSICAL / CONDITION - COLLECTOR'S COPY
Pp. (2), 16 nn., 208, 2 nn. Quarter red morocco? (cartonato d'attesa). Copy preserved in barbe, with wide original margins. Ancient ownership note. The iconographic apparatus comprises 19 engravings, including the famous allegorical frontispiece with Laura in the act of laying a crown of laurel on Petrarch’s tomb, with Valchiusa in the background; portraits, letters, views and other illustrations relating to the life and places of the poet. On pp. 100-101 are two ancient postils bearing textual corrections. Papers with some foxing, light browning and normal signs of time. A genuine and particularly pleasing copy for its freshness and wide margins. As with all antique volumes, slight defects or restorations not expressly mentioned are possible.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Giacomo Filippo Tomasini (1595-1655).
Petrarcha Redivivus.
Patavii: Typis Livii Pasquati & Iacobi Bortoli, apud Paulum Frambottum, 1635.
PRIMA EDIZIONE.
Pp. (2), 16 nn., 208, 2 nn.
With 19 engravings in total.
With Brevis Historia of Laura.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giacomo Filippo Tomasini (Padua, 1595-1655) was a cleric, scholar, biographer, antiquarian and historian of culture, one of the most interesting figures of seventeenth-century Venetian erudition. Trained in Padua, he developed a wide research activity devoted to intellectual history, antiquities, bibliography and the memory of illustrious men. He authored studies on Titus Livius, epigraphic collections, biographies of literary figures and important catalogs of manuscripts preserved in the public and private libraries of Padua and Venice. He later became Bishop of Cittanova d’Istria. Petrarcha redivivus represents one of his most lasting and original contributions. Tomasini does not simply tell Petrarch’s life, but builds a true historical dossier through ancient biographical testimonies, documents, traditions and material places related to the poet. The systematic use of images gives the volume a almost museum-like character, anticipating a modern way of studying biography through textual sources and iconographic testimonies.

RARITY
The 1635 first edition is considerably more interesting than the later expanded edition of 1650. Complete copies of the engravings and especially well-preserved ones with broad margins in barbe are particularly desirable. The illustrated nature of the work makes complete iconography a decisive element, since portraits, letters and views could easily have been separated over the centuries. The present copy preserves 19 engravings in total and also contains two ancient postils with corrections, an element that increases its appeal as material evidence of reading and transmission of the text. The combination of first edition, rich figurative apparatus, Petrarchan matter and barbe preservation makes the volume especially suitable for a collection of Italian literature and sixteenth-century iconography.

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
The Petrarcha redivivus occupies a special place in the history of Francesco Petrarca’s posthumous fortune. Published more than two and a half centuries after the poet’s death, it testifies to how in the Seicento Petrarch had become not only a classic of literature but a figure the subject of real historical, antiquarian and iconographic cult. Tomasini seeks to restitute the Petrarchan world in material terms: Arquà’s house, the tomb, Laura, Valchiusa and the other places linked to the poet’s life become visual elements of a biography that uses imagery as historical document. Of particular note is the view of Petrarca’s house at Arquà, considered one of the oldest iconographic testimonies of the building. The volume thus takes on an importance that goes beyond simple literary history and engages the history of art, architecture, topography and the construction of cultural memory. The allegorical frontispiece with Laura and Petrarch’s tomb perfectly encapsulates this transformation of the poet into a European myth.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Angelo Solerti, Le vite di Dante, Petrarca e Boccaccio scritte fino al secolo decimosettimo, Milan, 1904.
Massimo Ciavolella – Roberto Fedi, Petrarcha redivivus, Pistoia, Libreria dell’Orso, 2004.
Catalogs and studies dedicated to the biographical and iconographic tradition of Francesco Petrarca.
Studies on the House of Petrarca in Arquà and on the visual fortune of Petrarchan places.
Treccani, Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, entry Giacomo Filippo Tomasini.