Early printed books

Most of the early printed books in the collection date back to the 18th century and document Italian and French literary, historical and theatrical output. They include authors such as Machiavelli, Goldoni and Alfieri, along with numerous collections of writings and correspondence by intellectuals such as Voltaire and Montaigne.

In particular, two 16th-century books and some bibliographical curiosities once again reflect the refined taste and care with which Sraffa selected the books in his collection.

A 16th-century work of particular interest is a collection of Petrarch's poems and triumphs published in 1597 by the publisher Giovanni Gabriele Giolito de' Ferrari, active in Venice in the 16th century. It includes commentary by the poet, writer and critic of the time, Alessandro Vellutello. The volume features a richly decorated frontispiece, decorated initials, illustrations and Giolito's printer’s mark, depicting a phoenix coming out of the flames.

Another 16th-century discovery is a work by Bernardo Tasso, poet and father of the famous Torquato Tasso, author of ‘Jerusalem Delivered’. It is a collection of letters published in 1559 by the Venetian printer Gironimo Giglio. The letters were addressed to a large list of illustrious people of the time such as Popes Clement VII and Paul III, various political and religious figures such as dukes, princes, bishops and cardinals, as well as women such as the poet Vittoria Colonna.

Among the oddities, there is a collection of works by Teofilo Folengo, published in 1692 under one of the author's various pseudonyms, Merlin Cocai. Here he is defined as "poeta mantuani macaronicorum" (poet of Mantua) and was the greatest representative of the so-called macaronic poetry, which distorted classical Latin by mixing it with vulgar Italian to create a comic and parodic effect.