Commentarii rerum gestyarum Francisci Sfortiae. [Ed. Francesco Putealano]. Milan, Antonio Zarotto, 23 January [ [1482?]
SIMONETTA, (Giovanni)
Folio. 292 leaves (last two blank). 42 lines, roman letter. 18th century olive morocco, triple gilt fillet on covers, spine richly gilt in compartments, red morocco label, g.e. [1482?]
First edition of what has been described as "the most important humanist historiographical achievement to emerge from Milan in the 15th century" (G. Ianziti, Humanistic historiography under the Sforzas, 1988, p. 138).
Francesco Sforza is perhaps the best example of an opportunist condottiere who became a respected prince; he was employed by Duke Filippo Maria Visconti whose daughter Bianca Maria he married in 1443. He declared himself Duke in 1450 following the death of Filippo Maria in 1447 without an heir.
Giovanni Simonetta (d. 1491) was an inner member of the Sforza entourage and brother of Cicco, the powerful secretary of the ducal chancery. The work is an extended and detailed account of Sforza's career from 1420 until his death in 1466. However, the main purpose of the work was to present Sforza's successful drive to occupy Milan as the salvation of the Duchy from the hands of its enemies, and to order or re-order those events in such a way as to come up with an interpretation which would justify, on the grounds of political expediency, Sforza's takeover of Milan. In order to press home his arguments, Simonetta devotes as much as a third of the whole history to the three years between 1447 and 1450 when Sforza achieved his objective. Simonetta's further purpose was to aid Sforza's ambition to gain imperial investiture, a goal finally achieved by the marriage of Bianca Maria Sforza to Maximilian I.
The Commentarii appear to have been written between 1473 and 1476 but were not finally published until around 1482. This was mainly due to the changing political climate in Milan; the features of the work which made it one of the century's outstanding examples of humanistic historical writing (political realism, its bald apology for power and consequent detachment from the sentimental mythology of Milanese city traditions) made it locally unpalatable. It finally appeared, mainly due to the influence of Sforza's son Lodovico il Moro, who was equally anxious to pursue the Sforza claims, but at a time which suited him.
After the appearance of the second edition in 1486, there came an angry reaction from Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (the future Pope Pius III) regarding Simonetta's portrait of his uncle Pope Pius II. After a long series of negotiations, Simonetta agreed to remove the offending passages and to make a public apology.
In September 1479 Lodovico il Moro was reconciled to his sister the Regent Bona of Savoy, resulting in a palace revolution in which Cicco Simonetta, the all powerful secretary, was displaced, together with his friends and associates including his brother Giovanni. Cicco was executed in 1480, but Giovanni's life was spared due to the high regard that Lodovico held for the Commentarii.
Provenance. Armorial bookplate of Sir Richard Vyvyan, Bt.
First leaf restored at inner margin affecting one or two letters, first and last leaves lightly soiled and stained but generally a very fresh copy.
HC*14753. BMC VI, 718. Goff S532.
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