Rare books, manuscripts and ephemera from five centuries

[MODENA - COLLEGIO DE' NOBILI]. RUGGIERO E BRADAMANTE azione accademica umiliata all’altezza serenissima di Ercole III... dai signori convittori del Ducale Collegio de’ Nobili di Modena l’anno MDCCLXXX. In Modena: Per gli Eredi di Bartolomeo Soliani Stampatoi Ducali, [1780]. £675

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SOLE EDITION. 4to, pp. 64, [15], [1] blank; title within woodcut border, woodcut vignette, head- and tailpieces, and initials; occasional light spotting but generally clean and fresh throughout; in splendid contemporary brocade wrappers; small green mark to corner of upper cover, but still a lovely copy.

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A beautiful copy in spectacular brocade wrappers of this entertainment set at the court of Charlemagne, dedicated to Ercole III Duke of Modena and performed by the students at the Collegio de’ Nobili in Modena.

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The story of this Azione was a familiar one, having been famously treated by Ariosto, and indeed even the College of Nobles had used it in a similar entertainment for Rinaldo d’Este in 1728, although the present work is an entirely new one. As was customary, the full range of the student’s skills was on display, with dances and balli pantomimici (drawing on Metastasio). A full list of all the participants, and their roles, appears at the end, before an appendix describes the activities of the college over the preceding year, highlighting the literary and scientific achievements of the students, the curriculum, the studies of foreign languages (including a student’s faithful translation of William Hamilton’s Observations on Mount Vesuvius, Mount Etna, and other volcanos), and the students studying everything from violin to drawing and military architecture. 

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SBN (IT\ICCU\MODE\023021) records five Italian locations; OCLC records copies at Yale, Toronto, and the BnF. 

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