Rare (no U.S. copies) misprinted poem on a Roman church. The author's copy?
[Rome] / [Architecture] / [Bartolomeo Tortoletti]. Canzone per la real fabrica della chiesa di S. Andrea della Valle. All’illustriss. e reverendiss. Signore Il Signor Abbate D. Francesco Peretti. In Roma: Appresso Lodovico Grignani, 1627. 4to in 8s [20.9 x 15.8 cm], [1] f., 3-14 pp. [1] p., with woodcut arms of Cardinal Alessandro Damasceni Peretti di Montalto (1571-1623), uncle of the dedicatee, Francesco Peretti di Montalto (1595-1655), on title and with woodcut initial. Disbound. Remnants of sewing string. Minor edge toning, small loss to upper corner, a few minor stains.
Rare (no U.S. copies) first and only edition of this curious poem celebrating the completion of the dome of Sant’ Andrea della Valle in Rome, here in an example with both an unusual printing error and an intriguing (cancelled) inscription perhaps indicating that the copy belonged to or was the gift of its poet, Bartolomeo Tortoletti (1560-1647).
One side of one of the sheets (consisting of the title page, p. 4, and p. 13 [the final page is blank]) seem to have been mistakenly printed with un-inked type, which left a blind (or very lightly inked) impression. Instead of discarding the sheet, the pressmen simply re-inked the type and printed over the blind impression. The misregistration of the two impressions is jarringly apparent.
On the title page, what at first glance appears to an ordinary cancelled ownership inscription is revealed on closer inspection to show Tortoletti’s name (“Dal Sig. Bartolomeo Tortoletti”). (The poem was published anonymously, but Tortoletti’s authorship has long been known [see Melzi].) It seems doubtful that a copy with such an obviously misprinted title would have been sold or given to someone of importance, so it is possible that Tortoletti retained this example for himself or gave it to someone he knew would be untroubled by receiving an imperfectly printed copy.
Beyond the peculiarities of this copy, the work itself is of some note. In his dedication to Francesco Peretti di Montalto (1595-1655), Tortoletti adopts the persona(e) of the Muses (“Povere vergine, sempre ammirate ma sempre mal tratte”), signing the passage “Di Parnasso, Divotissime Serve, Le Muse” (p. 4). The poem compares the Christian temple of Sant’Andrea della Valle to the nearby ruins of the pagan Theater of Pompey. An extended metaphor sees the fisherman Andrew as captain of the ‘nave’/ship of the church. Wordplay emphasizes the names of Francesco Peretti di Montalto, his uncle Cardinal Alessandro Damasceni Peretti di Montalto (1571-1623)—under whose direction this phase of the church was built—and of the famous Berberini bees of Pope Urban VIII (1568-1644).
Work began on S. Andrea della Valle around 1590 under the direction of the architect Giacomo della Porta (1632-1602) and was continued using the revised designs of Carlo Maderno (1556-1629). Giovanni Lanfranco’s (1582-1647) celebrated frescos on the interior of the dome were complete in 1627, the year that Canzone per la real fabrica della chiesa di S. Andrea della Valle was published.
Born in Verona, Tortoletti spent most of his professional life in Rome, where his most fruitful period occurred under the patronage of Urban VIII. He is best known today for his epic poem treating that quintessential Baroque heroine, Judith (Iuditha vindex e vindicate [1628]). He also published, among other titles, the tragedies Agrippina major (1638) and Gionata (1624), as well as collected Rime (1645).
OCLC, KVK and OPAC locate copies at the Biblioteca Statale (Lucca), Biblioteca universitaria Alessandrina (Rome), and Biblioteca Nazionale Universitaria (Torino).
* IT\ICCU\TO0E\092197; G. Melzi, Anonime e pseudonime, v. 1., p. 170; Luca Piantoni, “Tortoletti, Bartolomeo di,” Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, vol. 96 (2019); A. Costamagna, D. Ferrara, and C. Grilli, Sant’Andrea della Valle; C. P. Ridolfini, Sant’Andrea della Valle; H. Hibbard, “The Early History of Sant’Andrea della Valle,” The Art Bulletin, no. 43 (1961), 289-318; S. Ortolani, San Andrea della Valle; A. Boni, S. Andrea della Valle, nella sua storia e nei suoi monumenti.