L'Aesopus Moralisatus Stampato in Parma da Andrea Portilia nel 1481

Abstract

This booklet was printed to commemorate a ceremony celebrating, as far as I can tell, the presence in Parma's Biblioteca Palatina of the unique exemplar of a book of Aesopus Moralisatus printed by Andrea Portilia in Parma in 1481. The sections of this pamphlet are: Cronaca della Cerimonia, Testo della Comunicazione del Dott. Ciavarella, and Appendice Bibliografica. This last bibliographical section includes a rich gathering of fable manuscripts and editions in two different collections, that of the Biblioteca Palatina itself and also that of Prof. Ettore Ponzi. There are two photoreproductions within the booklet: a copy of the incipit page of the book in question (16) and a copy of Barlow's frontispiece for an Amsterdam edition of 1714 (32). The dotted line for indicating which of the 300 this copy is remains blank. The traditional candidate (e.g., for Hervieux) for the author of this collection is Walter of England. My Italian reaches just far enough to know that Doctor Ciavarella's communication deals with the question of the authorship of the collection.