I. Martorelli - Terra Santa - 1865

Terra Santa. Religious aspirations of the theologian Igino Martorelli, Canon of the Metropolitan Basilica of Vercelli. Vercelli, De-Gaudenzi Typography and Lithography, 1865.
4to (cm 24.5 × 17.9). Pp. (VIII), 516, (II).
Complete copy with the 8 lithographic plates out of text (protected by original tissue guards), depicting views and interiors of the main holy places: Jerusalem, Church and Sanctuary of the Annunciation in Nazareth, the Sacred Grotto of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Mount Carmel, biblical landscapes and scenes of devotion.
Contemporary binding in half brown leather with marbled boards (black “spotty” paper on beige/yellow background), five spine nerves with raised bands and gold title (“MARTORELLI. TERRA SANTA”).
Pages in generally good to very good condition, with light foxing typical of the period; manuscript bookplate “Armando Ferraris” on the headband.

Fascinating and detailed pilgrimage account to the Holy Land, rich in topographical, historical, ethnographic observations and biblical criticism. The vercellese theologian describes the journey from Genoa to Jaffa, Jerusalem and surroundings (Holy Sepulchre, Calvary), Bethlehem and the Nativity Grotto, Nazareth, Mount Carmel, Tabor, Jordan, Emmaus and other sacred sites, an intertwining of religious meditations (“aspirations”), scriptural citations and cultural notes. In the appendix: list of indulgences and a systematic catalog of plants collected in the Holy Places in 1861-62.

Work by Igino (Iginio) Martorelli (Vercelli 1820-1885), abbot and canon of the Cathedral of Vercelli, ardent traveler and author of numerous pilgrimage accounts (Assisi, Loreto, Roman catacombs, etc.). After the first journey of 1851-52 (from which the Holy Land of 1854 was born) and subsequent reissues, this 1865 volume represents one of the most complete and illustrated Italian nineteenth-century testimonies on pilgrimage to Palestine, rare especially in a complete copy with the 8 lithographs and in an epochal binding.

Typical publication of the small Vercelli typography-lithography De-Gaudenzi, not easy to find on the antiquarian market in good condition.

Ideal for collectors of Holy Land travel books, nineteenth-century Piedmontese illustrated books and religious pilgrimage literature.