Letere de diversi eccellentissimi signori a diversi huomini scritti. Libro primo [all published]

Autore: NAVÒ, Curzio Troiano ed. (fl. 1537-1566)

Tipografo: [Curzio Traiano Navò]

Dati tipografici: [Venezia], [1542]


8vo (152x95 mm). [4], 100 leaves (with errors in the foliation). Collation: ()4, A-M8, N4. Later vellum with inked title on spine, sprinkled edges. A few pencil notes in the hand of the antiquarian bookseller Giuseppe Martini. Marginal worm tracks to the blank margin of about ten leaves not affecting the text, small stain to the fore edge, a very good, fresh copy.

FIRST EDITION. The volume contains 106 and is dedicated to the Venetian merchant Angelo di Motti. In the dedication the printer proudly states that his intention was to publish a collection of letters written by ‘diversi dotti huomini et d'alto grado' in the ‘thoscana eloquenza', following the example of the most important letter writer of anquity: “Le belle et dotte epistole di Cicerone Messer Angelo mio, del cui latte si sono nudriti e si nudriscono tutti quelli che vogliono gustar la purità et la eleganza della romana favella non sarebbon per aventura venute alla cognitione de' nostri tempi, se non la molto diligenza del suo famigliare non l'avesse raccolte insieme e publicate. Il cui essempio io parimenti seguitar volendo, diverse lettere [...] nella nostra lingua scritte in un volume riducendo, hora a utilità de gli studiosi lo publico, et ne fo parte a ciascun rendendomi certo che i discepoli della thoscana eloquenza dalle lettioni loro diletto, et frutto non mediocre apprender potranno” (l. ()2r).

In October of 1542 was also published the most successful of all Italian letter collections of the sixteenth century: Lettere volgari di diversi nobilissimi huomini et eccellentissimi ingegni. Libri primo, edited by Paolo Manuzio. Whether Navò anthology preceded that of Manuzio cannot be established, but he was convinced to be the first to publish that kind of book. However, the two works, although having in common some of the authors and even a few letters, are completely different in their intent and structure. Whereas Manuzio's work was enormous successful, was reprinted several times and grow into a three volume anthology, Navò's edition was never reprinted (cf. L. Braida, Modelli letterari, eterodossia e autocensura nelle antologie epistolari. Il primo libro delle ‘Lettere volgari' (Venezia, 1542), in: “Scripta volant, verba manent. Schriftkulturen in Europa zwischen 1500 und 1900”, A. Messerli & R. Chartier, eds., Basel, 2007, pp. 316-335).

Castiglione, Baldassarre to Clement VII. Burgos, December 8, 1532 [i.e. December 10, 1527] (l. 1r)

Sanga,[Giambattista] to Cardinal di Santa Croce [Quiñones, Francisco?] (l. 7r)

Gheno [i.e. Gherio], Goro to Cardinal S. Maria in Portico [Dovizi da Bibbiena, Bernardo]. Firenze, January, 21, 1518 (l. 8v)

[id.] to id. (l. 9v)

Vece Cancellier della Chiesa [Medici, Giulio de'] to id. Firenze, September 16, 1519 (l. 11r)

id. to id. Roma, August 14, 1528 [i.e. 1518?] (l. 14r)

id. to id. Firenze, February 21, 1518 (l. 15r)

id. to id. (l. 17v)

Medici, Lorenzo de', Duca di Urbino to id. Firenze, September 13, 1518 (l. 19r)

Vece Cancellier [Medici, Giulio de'] to id. Monte Fiascone, October 5, 1518 (l. 19v)

id. to id. Roma, August 27, 1518 (l. 22r)

[Dovizi da] Bibbiena, Bernardo to [Medici, Giulio de']. Roma, November 26, 1523 (l. 23r)

Vece Cancellier [Medici, Giulio de'] to Corner, Giorgio. September 19, 1523 (l. 24r)

Prothonotario Caracciolo, [Marino] to id. Roma, September 18, 1523 (l. 24v)

Giberti, Gianmatteo to Trivulzio, Paolo Camillo. Roma, October 2, 1526 (l. 25r, i.e. 26r)

id. to Cardinal S. Maria in Portico [Dovizi da Bibbiena, Bernardo]. Roma, January 8, 1527 (l.25v, i.e. 26v)

id. to id. Roma, January 12, 1527 (l. 27v)

Vescovo di Fossombrone [Guidiccioni, Giovanni] to Cardinal Trivulzio, [Agostino]. Aix en Provence, August, 13, 1536 (l. 27v, i.e. 28v)

Cardinal To[u]rnon, [François de] to Cardinal Triulzio, [Agostino]. Lyon, June 10 (l. 32v)

Canossa, Lodovico di to Clement VII. [1523] (l. 33r)

Vescovo di Baiusa [Canossa, Lodovico di] to Re di Francia [Francis I] [ca. 1526] (l.33v)

Vescovo di Baiusa [Canossa, Lodovico di] to Mons. Lutrech [Foix, Odet de, sieur de Lautrec] (l. 34.r)

n.s. to Fanzino, [Sigismondo]. Casale, April 27, 1539 (l. 36v)

Sanga, [Giambattista] to Cardinal Triulzio, [Agostino]. May 7, 1528 (l. 37r)

n.s. to Sanga, [Giambattista]. (l. 37v)

Marchesa di Pescara [Colonna, Vittoria] to Principe [Orange, Philibert de Châlon, Prince d'] [July, 1528] (l. 38r)

Torre, Fr.[ancesco della] to Gualteruzzi, Carlo. Vicenza, March 13, 1538 (l. 38v)

id. to Dalla Volta, Achille. June 30, 1538 (l. 39v)

id. to id. (l. 40v)

id. to n.r. (l. 40v)

id. to G.B. (l. 41.r)

id. to G.B. (l. 41.r)

id. to Blosio [Palladio] (l. 41v)

id. to n.r. (l. 42r)

id. to Bini, [Giovanni] Franc.[esco] (l. 42r)

id. to [Manetti] Latino Giovenale [de'] (l. 42v)

Tolomei, Claudio to Marchesa di Pescara [Colonna, Vittoria] [excerpt: Roma, May 7, 1533] (l. 43v)

Torre, Fr.[ancesco della] to Corner, Gian. September 15, 1538 (l. 43v)

id. to n.r. Verona, November 20, 1538 (l. 44r)

id. to n.r. Vicenza, March 10, 1538 (l. 44v)

id. to Vescovo di Viterbo [Ridolfi, Nicolò?] (l. 45v)

id. on behalf of Vescovo di Verona [Giberti, Gian Matteo] to Marchesa di Pescara [Vittoria Colonna] [ca. 1539] (l. 46v)

id. to Maffei, Bernardino. Verona, November 15, 1538 (l. 47r)

Cesano, Gabriele to Grimaldi, Stefano (l. 48r)

id. to Gambara, Veronica (l. 49v)

Gambara, Veronica to Gabriele Cesano (l. 49v)

id. to n.r. [Aretino, Pietro] (l. 50r)

Pericci, Benven[uto] to Gambara, Veronica (l. 50r)

id. to Presidenti della Camera Apostolica (l. 52r)

[Manetti] Latino Giovenale [de'] to n.r. (l. 53r)

Il Sipontino [Ciocchi del Monte, Giovanni Maria?] to Cardinal Trivulzio, [Agostino] (l. 53v)

id. to id. (l. 53v)

id. to Cardinal de Loreno [Lorraine, Charles de] (l. 54r)

id. to Re di Francia [Francis I]. March 20, 1539 (l. 55r)

Medici, Ippolito de' to Imperatore [Charles V]. Roma, June 2, 1532 (l. 55v)

id. to Re de Romani. (l. 55v)

id. to id. (l. 56r)

id. to Sig. Covos [Cobos, Francisco de los] (l. 56v)

id. to n.r. (l. 56v)

id. to Anton da Leva [Leyva, Antonio de] (l. 56v)

id. to Valeriano, Pierio (l. 57r)

id. to [id.] (l. 57v)

id. to [id.] (l. 58r)

id. to Canigiani, Domenico (l. 58r)

Bembo, Pietro to Giovio, Paolo, Bishop of Nocera. [Venezia, March 31, 1539] (l. 60v)

id. to Balleano, Giorgio. Venezia, April 4, 1539 (l. 61r)

id. to Corner, Andrea, Bishop of Brescia. [Venezia], April 5, 1539 (l. 61v)

Fracastoro, Girolamo to Bembo, Pietro. [Verona, March 5, 1539] (l. 62v)

Bembo, Pietro to Fracastoro, Girolamo. [Venezia], April 12 [i.e. 13], 1539 (l. 63r)

Cadinal de Salviati [Salviati, Giovanni] to M.M.F. Ferrara, December 24, 1540 (l. 63v)

Cardinal di Ravenna [Accolti, Benedetto] to M.M.F. Ferrara, December 24, 1540 (l. 64r)

Gri[mani], Marco to M.P.F. Jerusalem, September 3, 1535 (l. 64v)

id. to id. (l. 64v)

id. to id. Jerusalem, April 6, 1536 (l. 65r)

Giovio, Paolo to M.M.F. Roma, June 22, 1541 (l. 65v)

Vescovo di Verona [Giberti, Gian Matteo] to M.M.F. Verona, February 9, 1542 (l. 66r)

Rangone Pallavicino, Argentina to M.P.F. Modena, November 17, 1541 (l. 66.v)

Gambara, Veronica to Aretino, Pietro. Coreggio, October 26, 1536 (l. 67r)

id. to id. Coreggio, September 16, 1537 (l. 67v)

Da Lucca, Fran.[esco] to Aretino, Pietro. [Roma], November 8, 1540 (l. 68v)

Marchesa di Pescara [Colonna, Vittoria] to Dolce, Lodovico. Arpino, December 15, [1536] (l. 69r)

Marmitta, Giacomo to Dolce, Lodovico. Roma, December 13, 1538 (l. 70r)

id. to id. Roma, February 27, 1539 (l. 70v)

id. to id. Roma, March 7, 1540 (l. 71v)

[id.] to id. Padova, June 10, 1539 (l. 72v)

Bonfadio, Giacomo to Olivo, Camillo. Verona, September 22 [i.e.12], 1541 (l. 74r)

[id.] to id. Colognola, October 9, 1541 (l. 74v)

[id.] to Olivo, Volpino. Colognola, October 9, 1541 (l. 75r)

[id.] to Mons. di Brescia [Corner, Andrea]. Padova, December 9, 1541 (l. 75v)

Bichi, Annibale to n.r. [Foscari, Paolo?]. Padova, August 24, 1539 (l. 76r)

id. to [id.]. Castellottieri, November 14, 1540 (l. 77v)

id. to Foscari, Paolo. Padova, 23, 1540 (l. 78r)

id. to [id.]. Castellottieri, 6 (no month), 1541 (l. 79r)

Gonzaga, Ferrante to Re di Francia [Francis I]. Cremona, November 17, 1536 (l. 79v)

Fregoso, Cesare to Principe di Venegia [Lando, Pietro?]. Castelgiuffré, May 5, 1539 (l. 80v)

Card. Di Carpi [Pio, Rodolfo] to Reverendissimo di Tornone [Tournon, François de]. Nice, May 19, 1538 (l. 81v)

[Navò], Fabio Lelio to [Navò], Curtio Traiano (l. 82v)

id. to id. Roma, April 19, 1536 (l. 83v)

Christianissimo Re [Francis I] to Pope [Paul III]. March 9, 1536 (l. 85v)

Marchesa di Pescara [Colonna, Vittoria] to Contarini, Serafina. Viterbo, August 23, 1542 (l. 91v)

Marmitta, Giacomo to Dolce Lodovico. Coreggio, April 28, 1537 (l. 93r)

id. to id. Parma, August 1, 1538 (l. 93v)

id. to id. October 18, 1538 (l. 94v)

Tolomei, Claudio to Aretino Pietro. Roma, November 15, 1540 (l. 96v)

Martinengo, Fortunato to Dolce, Lodovico. Padova, December 23, 1541 (l. 98r)

Sansovino, Francesco to Dolce, Lodovico. Bologna, June 11, 1542 (l. 98v)

Little is known about the activities of Navò father and son. Of their over thirty printed works (mostly in the vernacular and sometimes pirated) the first one appeared apparently in 1537. Traiano father is mentioned in the last will of the mathematician Niccolò Tartaglia, who entrusted him with the publications of many of his works and nominated him administrator of his estate. His son Curzio Traiano was also active as a bookseller in Ragusa (Dalmatia). Their last book bears the date 1565 (cf. C. Marciani, Traiano Navò e suo figlio Curzio librai-editori del secolo XVI, in: “La Bibliofilia”, LXXII/1, 1970, pp. 49-60).

Basso, pp. 73-74; Braida, p. 307; Edit16, CNCE 31531; Quondam, p. 279; J. Bonfadio, Le Lettere e una scrittura burlesca, A. Greco, ed., (Roma, 1978), passim; J. Cartwright, Baldassarre Castiglione the Perfect Courtier: his Life and Letters, (London, 1908), II, pp. 354-355; V. Colonna, Carteggio, G. Müller & E. Ferrero, eds., (Torino, 1892), passim; G. Guidiccioni, Lettere, M.T. Graziosi, ed., (Roma, 1979), p. 37; P. Trovato, Intorno al testo e alla cronologia delle ‘Lettere' di Jacopo Bonfadio, in: “Studi e problemi di critica testuale”, 20, 1980, pp. 29-60.


[9139]