Napoleone - Codice ...pel Regno d'Italia - 1806

NAPOLEONE IL GRANDE – FIRST EDITION OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE KINGDOM OF ITALY, IN THREE LANGUAGES
Milan, Reale Stamperia, 1806. First official edition of the Napoleonic Code for the Kingdom of Italy, in the variant without portrait. A monumental quarto volume of 31 cm, with parallel text in Italian, French and Latin. Published in the year the Code came into force, it constitutes one of the fundamental documents of the modernization of Italian law. A fresh and crackling paper copy, with the final table of distances between Milan and the seat towns of the departments, in the second impression.

ABSTRACT
First edition of Napoleone il Grande pel regno d’Italia, printed in Milan by Reale Stamperia in 1806 under the direction of L. Nardini. The title page bears the declaration «Edizione originale e la sola ufficiale». The volume presents the legislative text in Italian and French on parallel columns, accompanied by the Latin version in the lower part of the pages. On page V the promulgation decree of the Code is shown. At the end, the Table of distances from Milan to all the capital towns of the Departments, second impression, an important document of the Napoleonic territorial organization.

WHY TO BUY
First official edition of 1806, in the portraitless variant.
Tri-lingual legal text in Italian, French and Latin.
Large quarto format, 31 cm, on fresh crackling paper.
Presence of the final table of distances, second impression.

MARKET VALUE
Indicative market value: 650–750 euros. The first official edition, the particular tri-lingual structure, the large format and the presence of the final table sustain its collectible interest. The valuation takes into account the portraitless variant and the defect to the rear hinge. A complete copy, with intact binding and in superior condition, could fetch higher quotations.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION
One quarto volume (31 cm). Collation: (2), XXXVI, 633, (3) pages. Total: 674 pages including the 38 preliminary pages and the 3 unnumbered final pages. Half-leather binding with gilded titles and fillets to the spine, covers decorated with raised floral motifs. Internally extremely rare and almost imperceptible foxing, fresh, crisp, crackling paper, with good print conservation. Overall a very good copy. Version without portrait but complete. Text in Italian, French and Latin. At the end, the table of distances from Milan to the capital towns of the departments, in the second impression.

FULL TITLES & AUTHORS
Codice di Napoleone il grande pel regno d’Italia. Edizione originale e la sola ufficiale.
Milano, dalla Reale Stamperia, MDCCCVI [1806].
Stampato per cura di L. Nardini, direttore della Regia Stamperia.
AA.VV. – Napoleone I (1769–1821).

THE STORY
With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1805, Napoleon launched a vast program of political, administrative and judicial reorganization of the Italian territories under his crown. The introduction of the French Civil Code, promulgated in 1804, constituted one of the most important interventions of this process. The new system replaced the fragmentation of the old states with a unitary system based on private property, contract law, certainty of succession and formal civil equality. The Code’s entry into force in the Kingdom of Italy in 1806 marked a decisive turning point in the history of Italian law. The Milan official edition constitutes a direct testimony, preserving not only the normative provisions but also the imperial decrees that sanctioned its application.

THE AUTHOR
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821), Emperor of the French and King of Italy, was the main political promoter of the civil codification that bears his name. The drafting of the French Code was entrusted to a commission of jurists including Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis, François Denis Tronchet, Félix Julien Jean Bigot de Préameneu and Jacques de Maleville. Napoleon actively participated in the legislative discussions and regarded codification as one of the most important achievements of his government. In the Kingdom of Italy, the introduction of the Code was supported by the Napoleonic administration and by the Minister of Justice Giuseppe Luosi, a central figure of the judicial reorganization.

THE PRINTING
Milan, Reale Stamperia, 1806. Official edition produced under the direction of L. Nardini, as expressly stated in the volume. The printing presents a complex trilingual typographic composition, with the Italian and French text arranged in parallel columns and the corresponding Latin version placed in the lower band. The promulgation, reported on page V, testifies to the normative and institutional character of the publication. The imperial decrees bear the name of Napoleon, the minister Giuseppe Luosi and the Secretary of State Luigi Vaccari. Particularly interesting is the final table of distances from Milan to the capital towns of the departments, calculated according to the ratio of millemeters to the Italian mile, with the inscription “Seconda Impressione” and date 1806. The table reflects the Napoleonic need to standardize measures, communications and territorial administration.

RARITY
First Milanese official edition of 1806, in the portraitless variant. The declaration «Edizione originale e la sola ufficiale» identifies the publication authorized for the Kingdom of Italy, distinguishing it from private editions and later reprints. The tri-lingual structure, the large format, the preservation of the final table and its historical relevance make it a sought-after work in Napoleonic legal bibliography. The portraitless variant constitutes a bibliographic feature to note, without assuming greater rarity compared to portraited copies in the absence of documented comparison.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Clio, Catalogo dei libri italiani dell'Ottocento (1801–1900); Catalogo del Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale, edizioni milanesi del Codice napoleonico del 1806; Camus, Bibliothèque choisie des livres de droit; repertori bibliografici della legislazione napoleonica e della codificazione civile italiana.

PERCHÉ ABBIAMO SCELTO QUESTO LIBRO
Abbiamo scelto questa prima edizione ufficiale perché rappresenta uno dei momenti fondamentali della storia giuridica italiana: l'introduzione del Codice napoleonico nel Regno d’Italia. La monumentale composizione trilingue, il frontespizio che ne dichiara l'ufficialità, la promulgazione imperiale e la tavola finale delle distanze restituiscono il carattere politico e amministrativo della pubblicazione. Un documento storico di grande fascino, che unisce diritto, storia napoleonica e tipografia italiana del primo Ottocento.

I libri antichi possono presentare imperfezioni, macchie, fioriture, bruniture, irregolarità della carta e della stampa, piccoli difetti della legatura, restauri e tracce d’uso compatibili con l’età, la conservazione e i metodi artigianali di produzione, anche se non espressamente segnalati. Questa inserzione contiene Visualizzazioni AI, realizzate a scopo illustrativo e ambientativo, che possono differire dall’oggetto reale. Per verificare caratteristiche, dettagli e condizioni effettive dell’esemplare, fare riferimento alle fotografie originali. Tutte le immagini fanno parte integrante della descrizione.