List 4-2013 - Libreria Antiquaria Alberto Govi

a m a n e d i t e d B y a w o m a n
9) GONZAGA, Curzio (1536-1599) - CAMPIGLIA, Maddalena ed. (d. 1595). Il Fidamante. Poema eroico dell’Illustriss.
mo Sig. or Curtio Gonzaga, ricorretto da lui, et di nuovo ristampato, aggiuntivi gli argomenti dell’Illustre, & virtuosiss. Signora
Maddalena Campiglia, & con le Moralità d’incerto Autore. Venezia, all’insegna del Leone [Heirs of Curzio Troiano Navò],
1591.
4to; 18 th century vellum over boards, blind-stamped center-piece on both panels, marbled edges, spine with gilt title on a morocco label, green
silk bookmark (front joint skillfully repaired); (4), 235, (1) leaves. Title within an elaborate woodcut border with the author’s portrait at the center
and his emblem (an eagle flying towards the constellation of the Ursa Minor with the motto “E sole altro non haggio”) at the top (the title
border is the same as used in the first edition of the poem, published in Mantua by Giacomo
Ruffinelli in 1582, with two differences: in the first edition the emblem is at the place of the portrait,
while in the upper oval are the Gonzaga’s coat-of-arms). Printer’s device at the end of the
volume. Woodcut capital letters at the beginning of each Canto. The Argomenti are set within
an ornamental woodcut frame. Very light marginal dampstain in the lower outer corner of the
whole volume, otherwise a nice copy.
SECOND EDITION of Il Fidamante, but the FIRST edited by Maddalena Campiglia, who
added brief verse summaries (Argomenti) of her own at the beginning of each Canto. This
is one of the very first books in which a woman played a leading editorial role. For Curzio
Gonzaga, her friend and relative by marriage, Campiglia also wrote the dedicatory letter to his
comedy Gl’inganni (1592) (cf. V. Cox, Women’s writing in Italy, 1400-1650, Baltimore, 2008,
pp. 153-154).
In the undated dedication addressed by Antonio Amici to the duke of Sora, Giacomo
Buoncompagni, is stated that at that time Curzio Gonzaga was still working on his poem and,
although he had already made significant corrections to the text of the first edition, he was not
yet completely pleased with the results. In order to offer to the public the new corrected version
of the poem, Amici contacted Maddalena Campiglia, who was the keeper of all Gonzaga’s
manuscripts. She agreed to edit the publication and contributed with her Argomenti. While
the poem was already under the press in Venice, Gonzaga was brought to that town by some
personal affairs and, although at first reluctant, he finally accepted to supervise the printing process.
- 22 -