P.A. PACIFICO - Cronaca Veneta Sacra e Profana - 1793

PACIFICO, Pietro Antonio

Sacra e Profana Venetian Chronicle, or a Compendium of all the most illustrious and ancient things of the City of Venice. Reissued in this latest edition, and in every part greatly augmented with new additions, enhanced and modernized.
Volume One.
Venice, at Francesco Tosi, 1793.

In-12° (mm 150 × 80 approx).
Pages [10], 312 + 11 plates out of text, of which 3 are folding (copper engravings). Only the first volume (the complete work is in two volumes). Marble binding.

Important historical and topographical guide to Venice, one of the most successful and frequently reprinted works of the 18th century. The volume covers the origin and foundation of the city, the lives of the Doges, the description of the sestieri, the parishes, churches, the Arsenal, and the customs and ceremonies of the Republic.

The plates, particularly sought after, include the grand bird’s-eye view of Venice with noble heraldic arms, views of the Arsenal Gate and the quays, and figures of costumes (Doges, patricians and Venetian ladies).

Late edition, printed a few years before the fall of the Serenissima, of one of Venice’s most successful guides (first edition 1697, numerous updated reissues). A precious source for the history, iconography and topography of Venice. Complete copies of the two volumes with all the engravings are scarce on the market; the single Volume One, well preserved and supplied with the plates, remains nonetheless of concrete collectible interest.