6V Francesco Guicciardini ISTORIA D ITALIA 1832 Decorative Gilt Binding Antique History Italy Italian Politics Government Statesman People Events Historiography Livorno Tuscany Geography
Title: Istoria D'Italia
Author: Francesco Guicciardini - Francesco Guicciardini was an Italian historian and statesman. A friend and critic of Niccolò Machiavelli, he is considered one of the major political writers of the Italian Renaissance. In his masterpiece, The History of Italy, Guicciardini paved the way for a new style in historiography with his use of government sources to support arguments and the realistic analysis of the people and events of his time.
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Binding Style: Hardcover
Number of Volumes: 6 Full Set: Yes
Width: 4.5" Height: 7"
Book Details: This antique six volume set is bound in marbled paper with cloth spines and gilt lettering. Volume 1-2 contains an engraved frontispiece portrait of the author. The set is twelve volumes bound in six.

Guicciardini is best known as the author of the Storia d'Italia (History of Italy), which provides a detailed account of politics in the Italian Peninsula between 1490 and 1534. Written during the last years of his life, this work contains the historian's observations collected over his entire lifetime and was a work intended for posterity. As Gilbert writes: "The History of Italy stands apart from all his writings because it was the one work which he wrote not for himself, but for the public."

In his research, Guicciardini drew upon material that he gathered from government records as well as from his own extensive experience in politics. His many personal encounters with powerful Italian rulers serves to explain his perspective as a historian: “Francesco Guicciardini might be called a psychological historian—for him the motive power of the huge clockwork of events may be traced down the mainspring of individual behavior. Not any individual, be it noted, but those in positions of command: emperors, princes and popes who may be counted on to act always in terms of their self-interest—the famous Guicciardinian particolare.” Moreover, what sets Guicciardini apart from other historians of his time is his understanding of historical context. His approach was already evident in his early work The History of Florence (1509): “The young historian was already doubtlessly aware of the meaning of historical perspective; the same facts acquiring different weight in different contexts, a sense of proportion was called for.” In the words of one of Guicciardini's severest critics, Francesco de Sanctis: "If we consider intellectual power [the Storia d'Italia] is the most important work that has issued from an Italian mind."

Condition / Notes: These handsomely bound antique volumes show very well with minimal indications of age and wear, including mild shelfwear. The bindings and text blocks are firm. Text is clear and crisp on lightly age-toned pages.

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