AA. VV. - Città di Padova - 1765

PADOVA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A RARE ANONYMOUS GUIDE TO THE CITY OF THE HOLY ONE
ABSTRACT
A small and uncommon historical-artistic guide dedicated to the city of Padua, anonymously published by Conzatti around 1765. In just 35 pages it condenses the history, monuments, institutions, and memories of the city, from the antiquity attributed to Antenor up to eighteenth-century Padua. The main text occupies the first eight pages, followed by a wide apparatus of historical and erudite annotations. Interesting are the references to the Arena (Terrace), the University, the walls, the Santo, the Carraresi family, and the main city monuments. A rare example of an Italian pocket urban guide preceding the great nineteenth-century tourism era.

WHY TO BUY
RARE GUIDE TO PADUA – A small and charming eighteenth-century document entirely dedicated to the history and monuments of the city, today uncommon on the antiquarian market.
1765 CIRCA – The work has no date, but bibliographies place it around 1765; precisely 1765 is the most recent year mentioned in the text.
HISTORY AND ART – The booklet moves from the legendary origin of Padua in Antenor to the walls, the Arena, the Carraresi, the University, and the main artistic and monumental testimonies.
EXEMPLAR IN MARBLEIZED PAPER – Preserved in a simple yet elegant binding in cardboard covered with marbleized paper, particularly suited to the nature of this small reference guide.

MARKET VALUE
Considering the condition of the copy, the realistic commercial value is estimated to be in the range of €150-250.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Binding in cardboard covered with polychrome marbleized paper. Copy with untrimmed margins. Some haloing and damp stains, small marginal tears and irregular margins, with no significant loss of text. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. Refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (2); 36; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Discorso sopra la città di Padova.
In Padova, per li Conzatti, [circa 1765].
S.A.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The Discorso sopra la città di Padova belongs to that interesting eighteenth-century production that precedes the modern travel guide. It is not a monumental history of the city, but a concise text intended to provide the reader with a synthesis of its origins, political vicissitudes, and main artistic highlights. The opening praises Padua as a city founded by Antenor and briefly recounts its history through the Roman era, invasions, the Middle Ages, and Venetian rule. The subsequent annotations greatly enlarge the text, turning the booklet into a small erudite repository. Particularly interesting are the references to the Padovan antiquarian tradition and its monuments: the Arena, the walls, the University, religious buildings, the Carraresi memories, and testimonies of ancient Patavium. The work is thus significant for local history as well as for the study of the birth of travel literature and Italian urban guides.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The work was printed in Padua at the Conzatti without a year. The dating circa 1765 derives from the content itself: the latest year cited is 1765, an element also acknowledged by modern antiquarian bibliography. The catalogued description reports an in-12° format, 35 pages, and expressly identifies the work as an anonymous historical-artistic guide. The title’s existence is also attested in the historical catalogs of the Library of Padua University, which list the Discorso sopra la città di Padova among works dedicated to the city. A Padua historical bibliography similarly recalls the title as “Discorso sopra la città di Padova,” printed at Conzatti with no date. The publication has also been catalogued by Buzzanca, Libri antichi di Padova, no. 231, a reference particularly relevant for this rare local production.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Buzzanca, Libri antichi di Padova, no. 231.
Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova, Catalogo collettivo delle biblioteche di Padova.
Biblioteca Universitaria di Padova, cataloghi storici digitalizzati ICCU.
Cataloghi antiquari italiani, Discorso sopra la Città di Padova, Padova, Conzatti, s.d. [ca. 1765].
Bibliografia storica e artistica padovana relativa alle guide e descrizioni della città.