Cecina; Flaminio dal Borgo - Città di Volterra - 1758

VOLTERRA UNVEILED: NOBILITY, PODESTÀS AND MEMORIES IN THE FIRST EDITION OF ITS HISTORY
Volterra’s history comes alive through documents, families, and protagonists of its past. From its origins to the Renaissance, a journey through the fortunes of one of Tuscany’s most fascinating cities. Lorenzo Aulo Cecina reconstructs its memory, enriched by the notes of Flaminio Dal Borgo. The series on the podestàs and the captains of the people reveal the face of the city’s ancient institutions. First Pisano edition of 1758, with red and black title page and parchment binding.

ABSTRACT
The Notizie istoriche della città di Volterra represent an important testimony of 18th-century Tuscan historiography. Published in Pisa in 1758, the work gathers the research of Lorenzo Aulo Cecina, an attorney and Volterra patrician, integrated with the notes and insights of Flaminio Dal Borgo. The narrative traces the city’s history from its origins up to 1530, interweaving political history, memory of the families, municipal institutions, and documentary testimonies. Alongside events, men of governance, magistracies, and relations with other Tuscan cities emerge, painting a nuanced picture of city life. The series of the podestàs and captains of the people allow the evolution of public offices to be followed, while the index of families provides a consultable tool for the numerous personal and genealogical references called upon in the text. The Latin inscriptions reproduced also attest to the attention paid to monumental memory. A volume in which erudite research becomes a narrative of a city’s identity, preserving historical, documentary, and collecting interest all at once.

WHY TO BUY
First edition of particular interest for collectors of Tuscan history, for scholars of Volterra, and for those researching documentation on the families and institutions of Italian towns. The presence of the magistracies series and the index of families broadens the work’s value beyond historical narration, making it useful for consultation as well. The red and black title page, the woodcut embellishments, and the original binding give the volume the character of 18th-century erudite publications.

MARKET VALUE
Antiquarian retail price range: €700–900, for a complete copy in good condition. Positioning in the upper range enhances the value of the first edition, its historical and genealogical interest for Volterra, and the original binding, taking into account the higher antiquarian prices documented for this edition.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
A quarto volume in-4°, with contemporary parchment-like binding and title on the spine. Untrimmed margins. Collation: pp. XXVIII; 331; (1), total 360 pages, equivalent to 180 leaves, excluding the flyleaves. Signature: †–3†⁴ 4†² A–2R⁴ 2S⁶.
Frontispiece printed in red and black with a woodcut device; prelims, ornamental initials, and embellishments in the text. The gatherings show natural waviness, folds, and small signs of age; margins are untrimmed and the print is legible.

In old books, with a multigenerational history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. This listing contains AI Visuals. The images are an integral part of the description.

FULL TITLE AND AUTHOR
Lorenzo Aulo Cecina. Notizie istoriche della città di Volterra alle quali si aggiunge la serie de’ podestà, e capitani del popolo di essa. Opera del chiarissimo sig. avv. Lorenzo Aulo Cecina, nobil patrizio volterrano. Data in luce, illustrata con note, ed accresciuta di altre notizie istoriche dal cavaliere Flaminio Dal Borgo, nobil patrizio pisano, e volterrano, giureconsulto, e pubblico professore della Università Pisana. In Pisa, per Gio. Paolo Giovannelli, e compagni, stampatori dell’Almo Studio Pisano, 1758.

CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
The work belongs to the eighteenth-century phase of archival research and reconstruction of city histories through documents, diplomas, and testimonies of the past. Volterra’s memory is reconstructed through the study of its political events, magistracies, and families. Dal Borgo’s annotations expand Cecina’s work and connect Volterran history to issues of Pisane history. The volume thus remains of interest both for the information it collects and as a testimony to the erudite culture and municipal identity in 18th-century Tuscany.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR
Lorenzo Aulo Cecina was a lawyer and Volterra patrician, a student of the laws and documents relating to his city. His research in the municipal archives formed the core of the work published in 1758. He collaborated with Flaminio Dal Borgo, a jurist, historian, and professor at the University of Pisa, who oversaw its publication, enriching it with notes and further information.

PRINTING HISTORY AND CIRCULATION
First edition, printed in Pisa in 1758 by Giovanni Paolo Giovannelli and colleagues, printers of the Almo Studio Pisano. The editorial presentation combines the red and black title page with an apparatus of ornaments and decorative initials, in keeping with the erudite publications of the period. The original edition retains specific interest for collectors of Tuscan local history and for collections dedicated to Italian institutions and families.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
A reference work for the history of Volterra, with particular interest in municipal magistracies, families, and documentary and monumental testimonies. The series of the podestàs and captains of the people, the annotations, and the index of families constitute an essential part of its historical value and consultability.