AN UNCOMMON VENETIAN EDITION OF THE JUSTINIAN'S CODES

[1.]: Iustinianus Augustus - Accursius - Persius. Digestum vetus seu Pandectarum iuris ciuilis tomus primus [...] Commentarijs Accursii, et multorum insuper aliorum iurisconsultorum tam veterum, quam neotericorum, praecipue autem Antonii Persii scholijs, atque obseruationibus illustratus. Editio postrema. Venetiis: [Francesco De Franceschi, Gaspare Bindoni il vecchio, eredi di Niccolò Bevilacqua, Damiano Zenaro], 1575 (Venetiis: 1574).
[together with:]
[2.]: Iustinianus Augustus - Accursius - Leconte. Codicis dn. Iustiniani sacratissimi principis pp. Augusti repetitae praelectionis libri XII. Accursii commentarijs, & multorum veterum ac recentiorum iurisprudentium annotationibus tam ad textum, quam ad glossas, recens illustrati , mendisque quam plurimis passim repurgati: additis & restitutis quibusdam Graecis constitutionibus, [...] Accesserunt his Fasti regij et consulares vsque ad Iustiniani mortem [...] Antonio Contio auctore. Editio postrema. Venetiis: [Francesco De Franceschi, Gaspare Bindoni il vecchio, eredi di Niccolò Bevilacqua, Damiano Zenaro], 1574.

[1.]: 4to (248x174 mm), contemporary full vellum, three raised bands at spine, calligraphic title at bottom edge; pp. [172], 1493 [i.e. 1509], [1] leaf of folded table. Title-page and text in red and black types. A printers' device at title page, with the symbols (Pace, Occhio, Pazienza, Salamandra) and the initials (FS, GB, NB, DZ) of the printers (F. De Franceschi, G.Bindoni il vecchio, eredi di N. Bevilacqua e D. Zenaro). Xylographic initials and ornaments. Folded table between p. 80 and 81 with an engraving representing the tree of jurisditions (Arbor Iurisdictionum).

[2.]: 4to (248x170 mm), contemporary full vellum, three raised bands at spine, calligraphic title at bottom edge; [36] l., 2640 col., [28] leaves. Title-page and text in red and black types. A printers' device at title page, with the symbols (Pace, Occhio, Pazienza, Salamandra) and the initials (FS, GB, NB, DZ) of the printers (F. De Franceschi, G.Bindoni il vecchio, eredi di N. Bevilacqua e D. Zenaro). Xylographic initials and ornaments.

Accursius (in Italian Accursio, Accorso or also Accorso di Bagnolo; c. 1182-1263) was a Roman jurist. He is notable for his organization of the glosses, the medieval comments on Justinian's codification of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis. He was not proficient in the classics, but he was called "the Idol of the Jurisconsults".

Antonio Persio (1542-1597) was an Italian philosopher, theologian and jurist.

Antoine Leconte (Antonio Conti)(1517-1586) was a French jurist, famous for his attacks on Calvin.

Iustinianus Augustus (Justinian I, 482-565), sometimes known as Justinian the Great, was a Byzantine (East Roman) emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the historical Roman Empire.
Justinian achieved lasting fame through his judicial reforms, particularly through the complete revision of all Roman law, something that had not previously been attempted. The total of Justinian's legislature is known today as the Corpus juris civilis. It consists of the Codex Iustinianus, the Digesta or Pandectae, the Institutiones, and the Novellae.
In particular, the Institutiones is a textbook explaining the principles of law.

Provenance: Private library of a Verona noble family, whose roots are in Mantua and in which there were distinguished lawyers and jurists.
[1.]: Ownership inscription at frontispiece, only partially readable (A di 21 Aprile 1598, io Lod [ovico] delli Alberigi m'addottorai a Pad[ova] ... A di 8 Marzo 1599 ...). Other ownership inscription at title-page, not readable.
[2.]: Ownership inscriptions at title-page, partially deleted and only partially readable (... Joseph Castellani), with the indication of the year (1644).

References:
[1.]: IT\ICCU\CNCE\014108. CNCE 14108. OCLC, 879858970.
[2.]: IT\ICCU\BVEE\009346. CNCE 13448.

Bindings tired, with tears and abrasions at spine. Some brownings and water-stains. A modest, but honest copy.