Ciampini - Vetera Monimenta - 1747

MEMORIES OF ROMA PALEOCHRISTIAN: UNIQUE TESTIMONY OF MONUMENTS NOW DESTROYED
174 EXTRAORDINARILY COPPER-ENGRAVED ILLUSTRATIONS
A monumental editorial enterprise dedicated to the memory of Paleochristian Rome, Giovanni Giustino Ciampini’s Vetera Monimenta constitutes one of the most important archaeological works published between the 17th and 18th centuries. Through an extraordinary iconographic apparatus composed of 174 figurative copper engravings — many of them very large and folded multiple times — basilicas, mosaics, monuments, sarcophagi, inscriptions, liturgical furnishings, and testimonies of ancient Roman Christian life are documented, many of which are today altered, restored, or definitively disappeared. The copy presented here is an authentic collector’s copy, exceptionally fresh, with unusually white paper, deep impressions and plates of extraordinary sharpness, able to render almost intact the original visual impact of one of the greatest editorial undertakings in European archaeology.
WHY TO BUY
One of the fundamental works of Christian archaeology and the monumental history of Rome.
Extraordinary illustrating apparatus with 174 figurative copper engravings, many of them large in format and folded multiple times.
Documents monuments, mosaics, and works that are today destroyed, altered, or irretrievably lost.
Indispensable primary source for archaeologists, art historians, liturgical scholars, and students of early Christianity.
Magnificent copy with exceptionally white paper, very fresh impressions, and wide margins.

MARKET VALUE
Complete copies in three volumes of the 1747 Roman edition are rarely offered on the international antiquarian market. Complete copies but in ordinary condition are generally priced between €4,000 and €7,000. Especially fresh copies, complete with all plates, with white paper, well-preserved impressions, and high-quality bindings can reach €8,000-12,000. Exceptional specimens for conservation, provenance, or plate quality can exceed these values.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION – COLLECTOR'S COPY
Three volumes in folio. Contemporary binding in full morocco on the first volume with spine label; volumes II and III uniformly rebound in elegant later morocco with spine labels, red-sprinkled edges. Magnificent copy, particularly appreciated for the freshness of the paper, unusually white and clean. The engravings are printed with notable force, depth, and contrast. Solid and well-preserved bindings, slightly marked by time. Occasional light foxing and minimal signs of use. In old books with a multiyear history, some imperfections not always noted in the description may be present. Collation: XXXVI, 276, [14]; XVI, 194; XVI, 258 pp. (total 810 pages), accompanied by 171 copper plates out of text, numerous folded multiple times. Missing is Ciampini’s portrait.

EXTRAORDINARY COPPER-ENGRAVED PLATES
The iconographic apparatus constitutes the heart of the work and is among the most spectacular ever realized for a book on Christian archaeology.
167 copper plates out of text, many full-page and numerous folded multiple times.
4 copper engravings in the text.
3 vignettes in the title pages.
Total figured engravings: 174.

The plates depict basilicas, apse mosaics, Constantinian complexes, mosaic pavements, ciboria, sarcophagi, epigraphy, columns, liturgical furnishings, architectural plans, and monuments of Paleochristian Rome with a level of precision that makes this work a true visual encyclopedia of the origins of Christianity.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Joannis Ciampini Romani Vetera Monimenta, in quibus praecipue Musiva Opera, Sacrarum Profanarumque Aedium Structura, ac nonnulli antiqui Ritus Dissertationibus Iconibusque illustrantur. Prima Pars a primo Christi Saeculo ad Quintum. Secunda Pars a Sexto Christi Saeculo ad Decimum. Cui accedit: De Sacris Aedificiis a Constantino Magno Constructis Synopsis Historica.
Romae, Sumptibus Caroli Giannini, ex Typographia Komarek, 1747.
Ciampini, Giovanni Giustino.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
Few works have played as decisive a role in the birth of modern Christian archaeology as Vetera Monimenta. Ciampini was among the first scholars to undertake systematic study of paleochristian monuments through surveys, archaeological comparisons, and highly accurate graphic reproductions. Many works depicted in the engravings are today deeply restored, transformed, or completely disappeared; for this reason the plates constitute an indispensable documentation for reconstructing Rome in the early centuries of Christianity. The spectacular folding plates devoted to interior basilicas, apse mosaics, and large Constantinian complexes continue to be an essential primary source for archaeologists, art historians, liturgists, and specialists in Roman topography.
A VISUAL RECONSTRUCTION OF LOST CHRISTIAN ROME
More than a simple antiquarian repertory, Vetera Monimenta is a true graphical reconstruction of ancient Christian Rome. Through hundreds of architectural and decorative details, the reader can observe monuments before the seven-eighteenth-century transformations, follow the evolution of Constantinian basilicas, and compare mosaics, inscriptions, and liturgical furnishings today lost or radically altered. Very few works still allow such a complete reading of the city’s original appearance.

BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Giovanni Giustino Ciampini (1633-1698) was a Roman archaeologist, ecclesiastical historian, antiquary, orientalist, and man of science. Collaborator of Queen Christina of Sweden, founder of important learned academies, and member of Europe’s main intellectual networks, he is regarded as one of the fathers of Christian archaeology. His research helped transform the study of antiquities from an antiquarian discipline into a scientific method grounded in direct observation, source comparison, and rigorous graphical documentation.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The early parts of Vetera Monimenta were published in Rome between 1690 and 1699. The 1747 edition represents the definitive collection of Ciampini’s archaeological works and also includes the treatise De Sacris Aedificiis a Constantino Magno Constructis. Printed by Typografia Komarek for Carlo Giannini, it solidified the author’s European fame among antiquarians, scholars, and great libraries. The enormous cost required to produce the large copper plates places this work among the most ambitious Roman editorial productions of the 18th century.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Brunet, Manuel du Libraire, II, col. 3.
Graesse, Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux, II, p. 143.
Ebert, Allgemeines Bibliographisches Lexikon, n. 4245.
Cicognara, Catalogo Ragionato dei Libri d'Arte e d'Antichità, nn. 3671-3673.
Berlin, Ornamentstichsammlung, n. 2677.
Schudt, Le Guide di Roma, p. 138.
Fosdick, Italian Antiquarian Literature of the Seventeenth Century, pp. 211-216.
Olschki, Choix de Livres Anciens, passim.
Getty Research Institute, cataloghi Ciampini.
ICCU / OPAC SBN, edizioni romane del Vetera Monimenta.
WorldCat, bibliographic records of the 1690-1699 and 1747 editions.