Sassoferrato - Tiberiade - 1587

The Invisible Embankment: Who owns the lands that emerged from the flood?
First edition - La Tiberiade represents one of the most astonishing moments in Renaissance legal thought: a natural landscape, a changing river, a contested territory become, for Bartolo da Sassoferrato, the laboratory of a new science of law. In this 1587 Italian first edition, the most influential medieval and humanist jurist translates into images, diagrams, and 'geometric' observations the ancient problem of floods, river islands, and watercourse variations, establishing principles that would influence civil doctrine for a long time. It is not just a technical treatise: it is the metamorphosis of the landscape into a living legal text, capable of showing how power is exercised even in the measurement of land and the governance of rivers.
Market value
The first Italian edition (Rome, 1587) is uncommon on the market. The few copies that have appeared in recent years show considerable variability in prices, generally ranging from 2,500 to 5,500 euros, depending on the quality of the parchment, the condition of the woodcut illustrations, and the integrity of the collation. The contemporary binding in parchment, as in this specimen, increases collector interest. Currently, no copies are available for sale from major specialized dealers.

Physical description and condition
Contemporary binding in floppy parchment, with handwritten title on the spine and at the lower edge; stained but stable parchment. Woodcut coat of arms on the frontispiece; typographic mark at the colophon; numerous woodcut illustrations in the text. Some browning and stains. Pages (2); 8vo; 190; 2nd; (2).

Full title and author
The Sea of Tiberias.
Rome, Gigliotto, 1587.
Bartolo of Sassoferrato

Context and Significance
This work stems from Bartolo's direct experience during his teaching in Perugia: observing the course of the Tiber from above, the jurist transforms a landscape into a theoretical question. Who owns the lands emerged from a flood? What happens when the river changes its bed? Are the islands created by currents considered public or private property? In answering these questions, Bartolo develops an innovative approach that combines Roman law, local customs, and a surprising use of geometric tools, anticipating a form of proto-scientific territorial analysis. The Tiberiade thus assumes a dual value: it is a fundamental text in the history of civil law and, at the same time, a testimony to the intersection of geography, hydraulics, and property theory. Riccardi describes it as the first author to have geometrically addressed the division of floodplains, recognizing this work as a foundational role in legal thought regarding river landscapes.

Biography of the Author
Bartolo da Sassoferrato (1313–1357), one of the most authoritative jurists of the Middle Ages and legal Humanism, was a professor in Pisa and Perugia and the author of an extensive body of treatises and commentaries on Roman law. His influence was such that the phrase 'nemo jurista nisi bartolista' became a warning in courts and universities across Europe. A great interpreter of Justinianic sources, Bartolo developed very modern concepts regarding the relationship between authority, territory, municipal autonomy, and private property, with a unique ability to translate concrete cases into abstract principles.

Printing history and circulation
First edition: Rome, Gigliotto, 1587. The work, uncommon, was printed at a time of renewed interest in Bartolo, especially regarding issues of territorial law and hydraulic jurisdiction. The presence of numerous woodcuts and geometric diagrams makes this edition particularly interesting from a typographical perspective. Presumably limited print run; it was mainly circulated among jurists, hydraulic engineers, and public administrators, with practical uses in border disputes along the Tiber and other Italian waterways.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Riccardi I, 92.
See also USTC (for variants and localizations of specimens).
For the legal context bartolista: Pennington, The Prince and the Law, 1200–1600.
On the relationship between law and geography in the Renaissance: Fioravanti, Bartolo, and the construction of the legal space.