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Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare representative view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
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  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare representative view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare detail view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare highlight from the volume of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare selected detail of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare image from the book of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare representative view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare example image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare notable image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare highlight from the volume of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare representative view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare detail view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare highlight from the volume of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare selected detail of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare image from the book of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare representative view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare example image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare notable image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare highlight from the volume of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare image of the 1645 - illustrated book.
  • Vite Dei Dodici Visconti by Giovio, Paolo, a rare view of the 1645 - illustrated book.
Vite Dei Dodici Visconti

Visconti dukes, serpent emblems, and manuscript pages.

Giovio, Paolo

Vite Dei Dodici Visconti
Che Signoreggiarono Milano, Con Le Vere Effigie Dessi Principi Dedicate All'Illustrissimo Et Reverendissimo Monsignore Honorato Visconti Arcivescovo Di Larissa

1645, Milano, Gio. Battista Bidelli

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Overview

A fine seventeenth-century edition of the important work by the great historian from Como (1483 - 1552), first published in Latin in 1549, and translated into Italian and issued in the same year by Lodovico Domenichi. An authoritative historical account of the lives and deeds of the twelve Visconti who ruled Milan in the 15th and 16th centuries. This very peculiar copy is distinguished by extensive manuscript leaves and interlinear notes in neat brown ink and slanted cursive hand, likely by a contemporary Lombard humanist who wanted to complete his own copy. Includes 13 engraved portraits, a beautiful allegorical engraved frontispiece with the Visconti coat of arms.

Inside the book

The Visconti dynasty ruled Milan from the 13th to the 15th centuries, shaping Lombard identity and Renaissance political thought. Works chronicling their reign served both as family histories and instruments of dynastic legitimacy.
The Tavola delle cose più notabili and Tavola delle heredità dello Stato Milanese organize dynastic events, inheritances, and disputes, especially with the Orléans dynasty. Such features, typical of late Renaissance and Baroque historiography, establish the work as both narrative and reference tool.
The text highlights several key figures leading to Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402), the dynasty’s most prominent ruler. As the first Duke of Milan, he transformed the city into a cultural and political powerhouse, patronized architecture and the arts, and secured his position through ruthless tactics, including the capture of his uncle Bernabò.
His successor, Filippo Maria Visconti (1392-1447), is remembered as eccentric, paranoid, and reclusive. He ruled through fear, executed perceived enemies, and provoked war with Florence and Venice in 1425, relying heavily on condottieri. Though his reign consolidated Visconti authority, it left an oppressive atmosphere at court. One handwritten note recalls his assassination in front of San Gottardo in Corte, where conspirators stabbed him in the head and leg. His body was carried to the cathedral without honors, save for a basket of roses donated by a prostitute later rewarded by the duke. Eventually, the corpse was abandoned to decay elsewhere.
The chronicle also records the marriage of Valentina Visconti, daughter of Gian Galeazzo, to Louis I, Duke of Orléans, son of King Charles V of France. Her dowry included the county of Vertus and valuable northern Italian assets. The marriage contract stipulated that if the Visconti male line failed, Milan would pass to her descendants. When the line ended, her grandson Louis XII claimed the duchy and invaded Milan in 1499, sparking the Italian Wars.
Francesco I Sforza, a skilled condottiero who became Duke of Milan in 1450, is also featured. Renowned for his military talent and political acumen, he was among the few mercenary captains to transform battlefield success into lasting dynastic power. By marrying Bianca Maria Visconti, daughter of Filippo Maria, he strengthened his claim to Milan. After a brief campaign in southern Italy with René of Anjou, he returned north and seized power following the extinction of the Visconti line.

Why La Fenice chose it

This is dynastic Milan at its most theatrical, alive with engraved serpents, dragons, roses, and ruthless dukes. But what truly captivates us are the contemporary manuscript leaves, elegant and unexpected, transforming the printed chronicle into a unique hybrid jewel—part book, part autograph, a living witness to the meeting of press and pen, irresistible to lovers of print history.
Condition Report

pp. [1] f.e., [2] frontispiece, [18], 119-120 (P4) and 129-133 (R1-2-3) are contemporary manuscript.

Contemporary paperboard binding with manuscript title on the spine. Beautiful allegorical engraved frontispiece with the Visconti coat of arms, designed by Crespi (called il Cerano) and engraved by Blanc. The 13 portraits within the text appear in large medallions, nearly full-page, surrounded by elaborate borders featuring eagles and dragons. Twelve of them are actually the Visconti family members in the volume; the thirteenth one is Honorato Visconti, archibishop of Lariss whom the volume is dedicated. As indicated in the collation, pp. 119–120 (P4) and 129–133 (R1–3) are in contemporary manuscript. While the volume typically consists of 132 pages, in this copy a scribe evidently completed the text by adding an additional leaf. The engravings are richly inked and remarkably fresh. A part from a light water stain in the top corner fo the first part of the volume, a clean and highly appealing copy. References: Michel-Michel IV, 55; Hoepli Catalogue 706; Predari p. 150.

Dimensions (inches): 10 x 7.5 x 3/4
About the author

Paolo Giovio (1483–1552), Italian physician, historian, and biographer, famed for his Histories of His Own Time and portraits of Renaissance figures.

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