Rare and attractive leaf with 5 beautifully hand-coloured woodcuts from one of the most famous Renaissance books on prodigies and extraordinary natural phenomena printed in Basel 1557. These early woodcuts depict on the recto, the birth of a two-bodied and androgynous child at Amiternum, interpreted in antiquity as a supernatural warning and associated with famine, plague, and impending conflict. Then the eruption of Mount Etna, presented as a terrifying portent foretelling political upheaval and war. The accompanying Latin text recounts how such extraordinary phenomena were viewed as signs of divine displeasure and were carefully recorded by Roman historians and chroniclers. On the verso side, the sun encircled by coloured halos, a rare atmospheric phenomenon interpreted by ancient writers as a warning preceding warfare and destruction linked to Rome and Carthage. Beneath appears a miraculous episode connected to the cult of Apollo at Cumae, where a sacred image was said to weep or speak during military conflict against Antiochus, causing fear among priests and diviners. The lower woodcut presents a fortified city landscape associated with further prodigious disturbances and ominous signs recorded in antiquity. The leaf originates from the celebrated Renaissance chronicle of wonders by Conrad Lycosthenes, Prodigiorum ac Ostentorum Chronicon (Basel, 1557) and draws on classical and medieval sources of its time such as Sebastian Münster, Conrad Gesner, Cardano and Paracelsus. The work reflects the Renaissance fascination with unusual natural phenomena, monsters, mythical creatures and other marvels of nature at the crossroads of early science, astrology and natural history. Dimensions: 26,5 x 19 cm Good condition. Attention for US buyers: Due to recent export problems higher shipping costs to the US apply!