Domenico Imberti - Troiano. Il qual tratta la destruttione de Troia - 1615

Trojan. Which deals with the destruction of Troy. For the love of Helen of Greece…

Place: Venice

Printer: Domenico Imberti

Year: 1615

Binding: contemporary cardboard in decorated paper, with a visibly worn spine.

Content and importance of the work

Rare sixteenth-century edition of the Trojan, one of the longest and most popular poems in the vernacular dedicated to the legend of the Trojan War, transmitted in Italy through late medieval and Renaissance versions that combine classical sources, chivalric traditions, and narratively expanded elements of great popular success. The work reconstructs, in poetic form and in twenty cantos, the entire story of the destruction of Troy, Helen's love, the deeds of Paris, Menelaus, Achilles, and Aeneas, also including pseudo-historical elements (Rome, Padua, Verona) typical of the Italian narrative tradition.

Illustrated by numerous popular xilographies in Venetian style, essential yet vivid, which accompany and mark the development of the narrative. A valuable testimony of the 'widely disseminated' literature in Venice of the early seventeenth century.

Exceptional bibliographic rarity.

This Venetian edition of 1615, printed by Domenico Imberti, is as follows:

not listed in the ICCU/SBN catalog

Not present in OCLC/WorldCat.

not registered in the USTC (Universal Short Title Catalogue)

Total absence in major digital libraries: BnF/Gallica, BSB, Internet Archive, Marciana, Newberry, British Library.


To date, no other cataloged specimen of this specific issue has emerged.

The only copy available on the international antiquarian market is a later edition, Venice, Giovanni Antonio Giuliani, 1626, currently offered at the price of 3,500 USD.
The copy in question, therefore, is older, rarer, and not registered by the bibliography.

Conditions of the specimen.

An item in overall good condition for its age, considering the fragility of the type of work.

Contemporary binding in decorated cardboard, heavily worn, with widespread abrasions, worn edges, and a deteriorated spine.

Solid book structure, but with signs of use and natural loosening.

Towards the last cards

Partially detached pages at the first nerve, still remaining attached to the fascicle.

A small tear on the outer margin, which — since the text in this edition is printed very close to the edge — resulted in the loss of some letters, but without compromising the overall understanding of the passage.


Uniformly darkened over time, with floral patterns and small spots.

Some well-preserved woodcuts, others slightly pressed or with minimal printing defects, typical of these popular productions.

Overall, an intact specimen within the text, complete with its songs and illustrations, characterized by a rare original patina that is difficult to find.

Collectible value

The copy maintains a very high level of interest for three fundamental reasons.

It is an uncensored edition, potentially unique or among the very few remaining.


2. Precede the only copy currently on the market (1626), estimated at 3,500 USD.


It represents a valuable testimony of the Venetian popular epic-poetic narrative of the early Seicento, with original woodcut iconography.



A title of great importance for collectors of:

chivalric literature

medieval Trojan tradition

Venetian popular publishing

Seventeenth-century illustrated books