Talucci, Celio. Il passaggio di D. Maria d'Austria Regina di Ungheria per lo Stato Ecclesiastico, l'anno 1631 [...].

€ 3.500,00

Only edition. Rare account of the bridal journey of Maria Anna (1606-46), Spanish Infanta and bride of Ferdinand III (1608-57), later Holy Roman Emperor, through the Papal States in 1631. Talucci (1602-44) was a scholar active at the court of Cardinal Carlo Emanuele Pio di Savoia (1585-1641).

At the end of 1626, Maria Anna was betrothed to Ferdinand, the younger brother of her first fiancé and the new heir to Emperor Ferdinand II. Maria Anna departed Madrid for Vienna in December 1629, a full three years after her engagement. The journey took more than a year to complete, her first stop in Italy being Genua, where the Infanta was met with all honours: "Questa Signora [...] per congiungersi seco in Matrimonio, partitasi da Spagna, doppo haver solcati molti mari, giunse in Italia, et il primo luogo, che vi toccasse fù Genova, dove fù accolta da quei Signori con ogni splendidezza" (p. 2). A plague epidemic that erupted in the Italian Peninsula shorty after the party's arrival rendered a stop in Bologna impossible, causing the party to turn towards Naples instead. Leaving the Kingdom of Naples, the Infanta then crossed the Papal States, including a pilgrimage to the Basilica della Santa Casa. On this section of her journey, Maria Anna was accompanied by Roman aristocracy led by a nephew of Pope Urban VIII, Taddeo Barberini, Prince of Palestrina.

Binding slightly soiled; 4 tiny wormholes to spine. Engraved title-page trimmed rather closely, paper occasionally waterstained, somewhat browned throughout. Small marginal annotation to p. 20 showing ink corrosion; some small creases; pastedowns slightly wormed. Still an attractive copy.