Serassi - Vita di Torquato Tasso - 1785

TORQUATO TASSO BETWEEN GENI, LOVE, AND MADNESS: THE GREAT BIOGRAPHY OF SERASSI
First edition of the celebrated biography of Torquato Tasso written by Pierantonio Serassi, one of the monuments of Italian literary historiography of the eighteenth century. A fundamental work that reconstructs the troubled life of the poet of Jerusalem Delivered, among Renaissance courts, literary glory, and imprisonment.
enriched by splendid copperplate engravings, historical portraits, and refined decorations created by important engravers of the era. Of extraordinary interest is the concluding catalog of manuscripts, editions, and translations of Tasso’s works, a precious eighteenth-century bibliographic repertory.
Impressive Roman edition of 1785, dedicated to Maria Beatrice d’Este, with fresh interiors and ample margins, authentic testimony of Enlightenment culture.

ABSTRACT
The life of Torquato Tasso, published in Rome in 1785 at the Stamperia Pagliarini, represents Pierantonio Serassi’s scholarly masterpiece and one of the most important Italian literary biographies of the eighteenth century. Through extensive documentary research, the author reconstructs the life of Torquato Tasso (1544–1595), from his early studies and rise at Italian courts to the troubled years spent in Ferrara, to his confinement in the Sant’Anna hospital and the final years in Rome. Particular attention is paid to the poet’s relations with the Este family, to the composition of Jerusalem Delivered, to literary controversies and personal vicissitudes that contributed to his fame as a restless genius. Serassi goes beyond anecdotal biographical tradition with a method grounded in collecting and analyzing historical testimonies. Of exceptional importance is the extensive Catalogue de’ Manoscritti, dell'Edizioni, e delle Traduzioni in diverse Lingue dell’Opere di Torquato Tasso, placed at the end of the volume, which turns the biography into a fundamental tool for bibliographic research.

WHY TO BUY
First edition of one of the most authoritative biographies of Torquato Tasso, intended for collectors of Italian literature, the Renaissance, the history of printing, and ancient bibliographies. The work constitutes a milestone in Tassian studies and stands out for the breadth of documentation, the quality of erudite research, and the presence of the precious concluding bibliographic catalog. Particularly appreciable is the copperplate illustration apparatus, with the frontispiece vignette depicting the poet and a pastoral scene within two ovals, and three large headpieces adorned with historical portraits. The edition, printed in a large quarto format, features wide margins and a refined typography. Despite significant defects in binding, the copy preserves interiors that are particularly fresh, a notable characteristic for a work of almost two and a half centuries. The 1785 first edition remains especially sought after for its role in the history of Italian literary criticism.

MARKET VALUE
The commercial value of this first Roman edition of 1785, in a complete and well-preserved specimen, can be roughly placed between 350 and 450 euros, with higher prices for especially fresh, unrestored copies or fine bindings. The presence of copper plate engravings, the importance of the biography, and especially the final catalog of Tassian editions constitute elements of notable collectible interest.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
Half-leather binding, with gold-tooled titles on a leather spine piece, boards covered in colored paper, and red-stained edges. Copperplate vignette on the frontispiece with a portrait of Torquato Tasso and a pastoral scene enclosed in two ovals, engraved by Cunego. Three large copperplate headpieces with portraits, engraved by Pietro Maria Vitali, and ornamental initials in woodcut. Binding, with the upper portion of the spine missing, front board almost completely detached from the text block. Pages with some natural staining. In old books with a centuries-long history, a few imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visualizations. Please refer to the original photographs to verify the object’s actual condition. The images are an integral part of the description. Pp. (2); 8nn; 614; (2).

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Pierantonio Serassi.
La vita di Torquato Tasso.
In Roma, nella Stamperia Pagliarini, 1785.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The figure of Torquato Tasso occupies a central place in the history of Italian literature and European culture between the Renaissance and the Baroque. Author of Jerusalem Delivered, one of the greatest epic poems of Western tradition, Tasso became even during his lifetime the symbol of the difficult relationship between artistic creation, political authority, religious discipline, and personal torment. His personal vicissitudes, in particular his relationship with the Este court and the long confinement in the Sant’Anna hospital in Ferrara, fed a biographical tradition rich in interpretations and legends. By the end of the eighteenth century, in the climate of Enlightenment culture, Serassi undertook a more rigorous reconstruction of the poet’s life, based on the study of letters, documents, and historical testimonies. His biography helped define a new image of Tasso, grounded in documentary investigation and in the analysis of the political and literary circumstances of his existence. The work exerted a notable influence on European culture: Johann Wolfgang Goethe read it during his Roman sojourn and drew important inspiration for his drama Torquato Tasso. The presence of the concluding bibliographic catalog also makes the volume a fundamental witness to the birth of modern Tassian studies.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Pierantonio Serassi (1721–1791), born in Bergamo, was one of the most important scholars and historians of Italian literature in the eighteenth century. A priest, scholar, and member of prestigious literary academies, he actively participated in Roman and Bergamasque intellectual life, devoted especially to historical research, literary criticism, and the publication of works by great Italian authors. He belonged to the Accademia degli Eccitati of Bergamo and the Arcadia of Rome, where he took the name Desippo Focense. His work was characterized by a deep knowledge of manuscript sources and old editions. The biography of Torquato Tasso, published in 1785, stands as the most celebrated and demanding result of his career, gaining wide recognition in Italian and European literary circles. Serassi also collaborated with Giambattista Bodoni on Tassian editorial projects, including the 1789 edition of Aminta. His research method, based on documentation and bibliographic investigation, contributed to the development of modern Italian literary historiography.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
The first edition of Vita di Torquato Tasso was published in Rome in 1785 by Stamperia Pagliarini, in an elegant quarto format, with a rich copperplate decorative apparatus. The publishing outfit testifies to the importance attributed to the work, dedicated to Maria Beatrice d’Este, Archduchess of Austria and descendant of the dynasty that had deeply marked the poet’s life. The frontispiece vignette, with Tasso’s portrait and a pastoral scene in two ovals, is attributed by bibliographic descriptions to the engraver Cunego, while the three large copperplate headpieces were created by Pietro Maria Vitali. The iconographic apparatus connects to the celebratory tradition surrounding the poet and the Este family. The success of the work led to the publication of a corrected and expanded second edition, printed in Bergamo by Francesco Locatelli in 1790, followed by further nineteenth-century editions, including the Florentine edition of 1858 edited by Cesare Guasti. The original 1785 edition remains particularly significant for its role in shaping modern Tassian bibliography. No reliable data are available on the original print run.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Pierantonio Serassi, La vita di Torquato Tasso, Rome, Stamperia Pagliarini, 1785, first edition, in-4°, VIII, 614 pages, with a copperplate vignette on the frontispiece and three large headpieces engraved. Gamba, Serie dei testi di lingua, no. 2441. The Tassiana Collection of the Bergamo Civic Library Angelo Mai, no. 3491. Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale, identifier IT ICCU TO0E 005841. For the history of later editions see Pierantonio Serassi, La vita di Torquato Tasso, second corrected and expanded edition, Bergamo, Locatelli, 1790, and the edition edited by Cesare Guasti, Florence, Barbera, 1858. The first Roman edition is regarded as one of the major testimonies of eighteenth-century Italian literary biography and one of the earliest great bio-bibliographic repertoires dedicated to the poet of Jerusalem Delivered."}{