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FONTANA, Carlo. Templum Vaticanum et ipsius origo cum aedificiis maximè conspicuis antiquitùs, & recèns ibidem constitutis; editum ab equite Carolo Fontana ... opus in septem libros distributum...

ROME, Gio Francesco Buagni., 1694.

Folio (438 x 312 mm.),  [16] leaves, 489 pages, [14] leaves. Parallel title and text in Latin and Italian, 79 engraved plates and plans (11 folding, one double-page) by Alessandro Specchi after Fontana, woodcut papal arms on titles, woodcut initials and vignettes. Contemporary Roman mottled calf by the “Rospigliosi Bindery”, covers pannelled in gilt, triple gilt ruled, inner frame of three gilt fillets, floral cornerpieces on outer and inner panel, gilt arms of pope Clemente XI (Giovanni Francesco Albani, 1700 - 1721), spine in eight compartments, titled in one, the others with floral decoration composed of various small tools, gilt edges. Usual browning here and there but a very fine copy in sumptuos binding.

First edition of the sumptuously illustrated description of Vatican City's architecture, in both Latin and Italian by the Baroque architect Carlo Fontana. The work showcases 79 engraved and etched illustrations - of which one extends to a double page and one are foldouts – based on drawings by Fontana and executed by Alessandro Specchi, one of his students who later achieved recognition for his design of the port of Ripetta in Rome and for his competition project for the Spanish steps.

Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) was a renowned Roman architect, a pupil of Giovanni Maria Bolino, Pietro de Cortona and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Fontana shared with the latter an interest in the relationship between sculptural elements and the urban environment, a concern made clear in the architecture of the great piazza at Vatican City. He was responsible for the construction of, among others, the Baptismal font in St Peter's Basilica, the Cappella Sistina of Sta. Maria Maggiore and the Cappella Albani in S. Sebastiano. However, his expertise was not confined to individual structures; Fontana played a pivotal role in shaping Rome's urban fabric, influencing the layout of public spaces and streets.

Templum Vaticanum, written at the behest of Pope Innocent XI, was intended as a ‘marketing tool' for the Basilica of St. Peter. “It has been noted that Fontana's literary activity concentrated on the period immediately preceding his appointment as chief architect at Saint Peter's and, having achieved his goal, he stopped writing (Coudenhove-Erthal 1930). But Fontana's publications did more than gain him the most desirable architectural post in papal Rome. It is through them that Fontana's most important architectural and urbanistic ideas are known to us, because, although their inclination is more historical and technical than artistic, he used his books to publicize and seek acceptance for several of his favourite projects. The lavish illustrations, bilingual text, and aristocratic dimensions and pagination of the book on Saint Peter's were made possible by the sponsorship of the Congregazione della Reverenda Fabbrica di San Pietro. This committee of cardinals, prelates, and administrators of the basilica, responsible for the conservation, ornament, and restorations of the church, concerned itself with publications that propagated the fame of Saint Peter's throughout the world. In the case of the Templum Vaticanum, the committee sponsored research by Fontana, who had been commissioned by Pope Innocent XI to demonstrate that, contrary to gossip that first surfaced in 1680, the stability of the great dome designed by Michelangelo had not been undermined by recent work on the reliquary chapels in the four piers of the crossing.

The book is divided into seven unequal parts that examine the history of the Vatican site and the history of the Constantinian basilica, reiterate the movement of the obelisk by Domenico Fontana, provide extensive graphic documentation for the history of the square of Saint Peter's, describe the modern basilica, compare the cost of the modern basilica with that of the Temple of Solomon, and finally compare the form of Saint Peter's with that of other Christian and ancient Roman temples. The book's publication was almost halted at the last moment by Innocent XII, who feared the public's reaction to the published global cost of the basilica. [However], The Templum Vaticanum caused a sensation in the contemporary art world; it was ardently discussed, for instance, in the correspondence of the director of the French Academy in Rome for the next two years. Fontana himself further justified the spiritual import of his book by pointing out that it had brought about the conversion to Catholicism of Friedrich of Saxony, who awarded Fontana a knighthood upon being elected king of Poland as Augustus II.” (Millard pp. 142-144)

Millard Italian Books 38 p.141; Fowler 122; RIBA, Early Printed Books, 1096; USTC 1745791; Cicognara 3731 “Questa grande, e magnifica opera divisa con bella ordinanza, e ricca di numerose, e grandi tavole di bel disegno, e nitido intaglio, per opera di Alessandro Specchi che incideva assai bene le cose di questo genere, è la più completa che abbiasi intorno la storia, e la costruzione di questo sommo edificio. L'edizione non poteva essere più nobile, ed accurata”.