Famiano Strada - De Bello Belgico - 1632

Very rare first folio edition of these fine volumes dating back to 1632/1647, comprised of, respectively, 364 and 480 pages and containing 11 and 18 (out of 19) etchings, mostly on double page, engraved by great masters such as Baur, Giminiani and Wiele. The two cover pages are included, engraved with a large map of the Netherlands in the shape of a lion (LEO BELGICO). In good condition: small defects on the spines of the two volumes, inside a slight corrugation of the pages and a little mildew. Overall excellent quality of the ink of the plates.
Strada entered the Society of Jesus in 1591, and for fifteen years taught eloquence at the Collegio Romano, becoming the most authoritative officiant of early 17th century Roman rhetoric.
More than the desire to give concrete form to his orientation of thought, Strada, in composing the historical work De bello belgico decades duae, obeyed the invitation of Duke Alessandro Farnese of Parma. The narrative of the uprisings and wars of Flanders from 1555 to 1590 is clever, written in moderation and without violent controversy. Numerous aulic references to the Farnese, however, compensated, at least in part, by the use of documentary material from those archives. Strada moves away from the common imitators of Livy for a more modern and lively Latin style. Strada’s work circulated widely and was translated into the main European languages.