Napoleone - Codice ...pel Regno d'Italia - 1806

NAPOLEON THE GREAT – FIRST EDITION OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALY, IN THREE LANGUAGES
Milan, Real Stamperia, 1806. First official edition of the Napoleonic Code for the Kingdom of Italy, in the variant without portrait. A monumental quarto volume of 31 cm, with Italian, French, and Latin parallel texts. Published in the year of the Code’s entry into force, it stands as one of the foundational documents of Italian legal modernization. An impression on fresh, crisp paper, with the final table of distances from Milan to the capitals of the departments, in second impression.

ABSTRACT
First edition of Napoleon the Great’s Code for the Kingdom of Italy, printed in Milan by the Real Stamperia in 1806 under the direction of L. Nardini. The title page bears the declaration “Edizione originale e la sola ufficiale.” The volume presents the legislative text in Italian and French on parallel columns, accompanied by the Latin version in the lower portion of the pages. On page V, the decree promulgating the Code appears. At the end, the Table of distances from Milan to all the Capoluoghi of the Departments, second impression, an important document of the Napoleonic territorial organization.

WHY TO BUY
First official edition of 1806, in the portrait-less variant.
Tri-lingual legal text in Italian, French, and Latin.
Large quarto format, 31 cm, on fresh, crisp paper.
Presence of the final table of distances, second impression.

MARKET VALUE
Indicative commercial value: 650–750 euros. The first official edition, the distinctive tri-lingual structure, the large format, and the presence of the final table sustain its collecting interest. The assessment takes into account the portrait-less variant and a defect to the rear hinge. A complete copy, with intact binding and in superior condition, could fetch higher prices.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
A volume in quarto (31 cm). Collation: (2), XXXVI, 633, (3) pages. Total: 674 pages overall, including 38 preliminary and 3 unnumbered final pages. Half-leather binding with gilded titles and bands to the spine, boards decorated with embossed floral motifs. Internally extremely rare and nearly imperceptible foxing, fresh, crisp paper, with sound printing. Overall, a very good condition exemplar. Variant without portrait but complete. Text in Italian, French, and Latin. At the end, table of distances from Milan to the capoluoghi of the departments, in second impression.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Code of Napoleon the Great for the Kingdom of Italy. Original edition and the only official one.
Milan, from the Real Stamperia, MDCCCVI [1806].
Printed under the care of L. Nardini, director of the Royal Stamperia.
AA.VV. – Napoleon I (1769–1821).

THE STORY
With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1805, Napoleon launched a broad program of political, administrative, and judicial reorganization of the Italian territories under his crown. The introduction of the French Civil Code, promulgated in 1804, constituted one of the most important interventions in this process. The new arrangement replaced the fragmentation of the old states with a unitary system based on private property, contract law, certainty of succession, and formal civil equality. The Code’s entry into force in the Kingdom of Italy in 1806 marked a decisive turning point in the history of Italian law. The Milanese official edition stands as a direct testimony, preserving not only the normative provisions but also the imperial decrees that implemented them.

THE AUTHOR
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), Emperor of the French and King of Italy, was the principal political proponent of the civil codification bearing his name. The drafting of the French Code was entrusted to a commission of jurists including Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis, François Denis Tronchet, Félix Julien Jean Bigot de Préameneu, and Jacques de Maleville. Napoleon actively participated in the legislative discussions and regarded codification as one of the most important achievements of his government. In the Kingdom of Italy, the introduction of the Code was supported by the Napoleonic administration and by the Minister of Justice Giuseppe Luosi, a central figure in the judicial reorganization.

THE PRINTING
Milan, Real Stamperia, 1806. Official edition produced under the direction of L. Nardini, as expressly stated in the volume. The printing presents a complex trilingual typographic composition, with the Italian and French text arranged in parallel columns and the corresponding Latin version placed in the lower band. The promulgation, noted on page V, testifies to the normative and institutional character of the publication. The imperial decrees bear the names of Napoleon, Minister Giuseppe Luosi, and Secretary of State Luigi Vaccari. Particularly interesting is the final table of distances from Milan to the capoluoghi of the departments, calculated according to the ratio of the miriameter to the Italian mile, with the label “Seconda Impressione” and the date 1806. The table reflects the Napoleonic need to standardize measures, communications, and territorial administration.

RARITY
First Milanese official edition of 1806, in the portrait-less variant. The declaration “Edizione originale e la sola ufficiale” identifies the edition authorized for the Kingdom of Italy, distinguishing it from private editions and later reprints. The tri-lingual structure, the large format, the preservation of the final table, and the historical significance make it a sought-after work within Napoleonic legal bibliography. The portrait-less variant is a bibliographic feature to note, without assuming greater rarity than copies with portraits in the absence of documented comparison.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clio, Catalogo dei libri italiani dell'Ottocento (1801–1900); Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale, edizioni milanesi del Codice napoleonico del 1806; Camus, Bibliothèque choisie des livres de droit; repertori bibliografici della legislazione napoleonica e della codificazione civile italiana.

PERCHÉ ABBIAMO SCELTO QUESTO LIBRO
We chose this first official edition because it represents one of the fundamental moments of Italian legal history: the introduction of the Napoleonic Code in the Kingdom of Italy. The monumental tri-lingual composition, the title page declaring its official status, the imperial promulgation, and the final table of distances convey the political and administrative character of the publication. A historically fascinating document that unites law, Napoleonic history, and early 19th-century Italian typography.

Ancient books may show blemishes, stains, foxing, browning, irregularities in the paper and printing, small defects in the binding, restorations and signs of use compatible with age, conservation, and crafts methods of production, even if not explicitly noted. This listing includes AI visualizations, produced for illustrative and ambient purposes, which may differ from the actual object. To verify characteristics, details, and actual conditions of the specimen, refer to the original photographs. All images are an integral part of the description.