Beschreibung:

FERRERIUS, Zacharius (1479-1524). Itinerarium Divi Leonis Decimi Pontificis Max . Rome: Etienne Guillery, 3 April 1516. 4° (187 x 134 mm). Collation: A 8 (A1r title, woodcut arms of Pope Leo X, A1v prefatory verse by Pescenius Franciscus Niger to the author, A2r text, A8r colophon, A8v blank). 8 leaves. Roman type. The first line of A2v appears as partially inked bearer type on A1v. A few early ink corrections. (Light marginal foxing.) 19th-century vellum over pasteboard. Provenance : effaced 17th-century inscription on title page. Second(?) edition, apparently published after Marcello Silber's edition of the same year. Giovanni de' Medici (1475-1521), second son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, was elected Pope in 1513, taking the name Leo X. His papacy witnessed the renewed advance of Islam in Central Europe and the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation. Leo was not a man of deep religion, and has in the past been harshly judged for his nepotism, love of luxury, and failure to recognize the need for reform within the Church; nonetheless he was a sincere, liberal and intelligent lover of the arts and of literature, who made the Church an outstanding patron of the arts and of the humanist revival of classical literature. In 1516 Leo journeyed from Rome to Bologna, via Florence, to meet with King Francis I of France at a time when the French were deeply involved in the affairs of Italy and had recently reasserted their influence over Milan. This poem, written by a member of Leo's entourage, commemorates that journey, describing its stages with rhetorical allusions to the beauties of the countryside and references to the mythological associations of the cities along the route. Leo's reception in his native Florence and the ceremonies of his meeting with Francis are described in particular detail. Zaccaria Ferreri was member of the circle of humanists around Leo X, a group that included Bembo and Poggio. Later in his career he served as papal nuncio to Poland. RARE. BM/STC Italian p. 248.