List 4-2013 - Libreria Antiquaria Alberto Govi

therein, depicting all the Ptolemaic constellations with the exception
of the Equuleus, give the first reproduction of the
sky devoid of the usual mythological figures) and introduces
for the first time the system, then adopted by Johann Bayer
and through him by all modern astronomers, of using the letters
to mark the stars. These are furthermore represented in
four different sizes according to their brightness. For orientation
in the observation of the celestial vault, the plates also
have a graduated scale and always indicate the position of the
north pole.
Alessandro Piccolomini, scholar, astronomer, and playwright
from Siena, studied in his hometown, in Padua (1538-
42) under the guide of Vincenzo Maggi and Federico Delfino,
and in Bologna (1542-43), where he attended the lessons of
the philosopher Boccadiferro. Back to Padua, he was appointed
lecturer of moral philosophy and became member of the
Accademia degli Intronati. His fame is mainly related to his
commentaries on Aristotle and to his literary production (Cento sonetti, 1549; L’Alessandro, 1553; L’Amor costante, 1540; L’Hortensio, 1574),
but also the treatises De la institutione di tutta la vita de l’homo nato nobile e in città libera (1542) and Dialogo de la bella creanza delle donne
(1539) enjoyed a great success (cf. M.F. Piéjus, M. Plaisance & M. Residori, eds., Alessandro Piccolomini (1508-1579). Un siennois à la croisée
des genres et des savoirs. Actes du Colloque International, Paris 23-25 septembre 2010, Paris, 2011, passim).
Edit 16, CNCE 29527; Adams, P-1108; Bibliotheca magica. Dalle opere a stampa della Biblioteca Casanatense di Roma (secc. XV-XVIII),
Florence, 1985, no. 971; J.C. Houzeau-A. Lancaster, Bibliographie générale de l’astronomie jusqu’en 1880, London, 1960, no. 2491; P. Riccardi,
Biblioteca matematica italiana, Milan, 1952, I, 2 nd part, col. 269; Cerreta, Op. cit., p. 181. € 3.200,00
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