This is a stolen book!

GRANADA, Luis de. Rosario della Sacratissima Vergine Maria.

Rome, Giuseppe de gl'Angeli., 1573.

Quarto (208×145mm). [6] leaves, 276 pages. Engraved architectural title-page with the Madonna and Child enthroned signed by Adamo Scultori; 21 full-page engravings by Adamo Scultori. Printer's device on last leaf, woodcut ornaments and initials throughout. Early seventeenth-century red morocco binding decorated with gilt leafy borders and floral cornerpieces on both covers; title lettered in gilt inside a lozenge on front cover; rear cover with the Boncompagni's dragon, surrounded by owner's name, 'Hieronimus Boncompagnus' (Cardinal Girolamo Boncompagni, Archbishop of Bologna from 1651 to 1684) and arabesque tools. Some light foxing, a small hole in the outer white margin of leaf Cc4. A fine copy from the library of Filippo Serlupi Crescenzi (ex-libris).

First edition. A devotional work by the Dominican friar Luis de Granada beautifully illustrated with twenty-one engravings by the Mantuan artist Adamo Scultori. De Granada (1504–1588) was a Spanish preacher, theologian and author of numerous apologetic, theological and hagiographic writings in Latin, Spanish and Portuguese. "The fame of his preaching spread beyond the boundaries of his native land, and at the request of the Cardinal Infante, Dom Henrique of Portugal, son of King Manuel, he was transferred to the latter country, where he became provincial of the Portuguese Dominicans in 1557. His extraordinary sanctity, learning, and wisdom soon attracted the attention of the queen regent, who appointed him her confessor and counsellor. The Bishopric of Viseu and the Archbishopric of Braga were successively offered to him only to be courteously, but firmly, refused. The honours of the cardinalate, offered to him by Pope Sixtus V, were also declined. […] Besides ascetical theology, his published works treat of Scripture, dogma, ethics, biography, and history. He is best known, however, for his ascetical writings. The appreciation of their worth extended throughout Europe, and later to America, and their popularity still remains but little impaired after the passage of four hundred years. […] In all, some twenty-seven works are attributed to his pen" (Catholic Encyclopedia). The present edition is a collection of passages taken from the work of Luis de Granada edited by the Dominican friar Andrea Gianetti of Salò. "It was compiled in 1572, immediately after Pope Pius V proclaimed the 7th of October as the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary in celebration of the victory of the Holy League at Lepanto (1571). In his dedication, addressed to the Master of his order Serafino Cavalli, dated 25 March 1573 (the day of the Annunciation), Andrea Gianetti […] states that, being unable to write meditations himself, he collected those by Luis de Granada and so made a mosaic of passages dealing with the fifteen mysteries. After a number of chapters devoted to the earlier development of this form of devotion and to indulgences, the suggestions given for the recitation start by comparing the Rosary to daily food: as the body needs to be restored, so the soul needs spiritual food, such as that provided by the Rosary, which is a summary of Christ's life ('compendio della vita di Cristo'). It should be recitated 'nella hora del giorno più commoda e più atta', 'o nella chiesa commune o nella privata stanza' (at the most convenient and suitable hour of the day, in a church or in a private room). The most important aspect of the ritual is the attitude of the devotee: 'cuore humile, devoto, pieno d'amore e di timore, ridotto e raccolto davanti al cospetto di Dio'. This instruction clearly illustrates the potential difficulty of combining meditative and oral prayer, and so suggests starting with oral prayers, in order to stimulate the emotions, and then following with meditation, paying more attention to activity of the spirit. […] The full-page illustrations by Adamo Scultori, slightly modified in subsequent editions, were therefore useful in supporting the workings of the imagination. […] The images for each decade of the Ave Maria are very beautiful, and were intended to help the imagination in the process of meditation. Granada-Gianetti's publication was highly successful, was reprinted several times, and was subsequently enriched by the meditations of other Dominicans (specifically Antonio Ciccarelli and Gerolamo Berovardi)" (Ardissino, pp. 351–354).

Brunet II, 1697; EDIT16 CNCE 27080; Olschki, Leo S. Choix de livres anciens rares et curieux, 3133: "Beau volume, remarquable à cause de ses superbes figures, scènes de la vie de Marie, qui occupent l'espace d'une page entière. Elles font assez bien voir l'influence des peintres flamands, qui séjournèrent alors à Rome. Belles épreuves" & 4770; Palau III, 403: "Este libro es buscado por los grabados que lo adornan"; Ardissino, Erminia. "Literary and Visual Forms of a Domestic Devotion: The Rosary in Renaissance Italy." Domestic Devotions in Early Modern Italy, edited by Maya Corry et al., 342–371. Leiden: Brill, 2019.