XL pp. preface including index of illustrations, followed by five double-page engraved plates. Folio (21 x 15 inches). Contemporary leather-backed boards. Some splitting along spine, edgewear and bumping, very light scattered foxing to interior, overall very good. Venice: Tipografia di Alvisopoli, 1817.

This volume comprises an essay by the Vicentian architect Tommaso Carlo Beccega (died circa 1852) on the application of greco-roman architectural principles to the construction of the modern Italian theater, with accompanying plates. The text is divided into sections: Prefazione; Parte I: Della Solidità; Parte II: Della Comodità (subdivided into convenience or comfort in general, convenience of entrances, convenience of position relative to seeing, sitting, and hearing, convenience of the stage, and convenience of other places within the theater); Parte III: Della Bellezza; and Parte Ultima: Dela Macchine Teatrali.

The essay is followed by a index of illustrations contained within the following five large plates. These include things like dressing rooms, the orchestra, entrances, stairs, loggias, and architectural ornamentation. The plates were engraved by Antonio Bernatti (1792-1873), a painter, printmaker, and architect.

In his bibliography, Cicgonara wrote of this work, "In cinque gran tavole, e in 40 pagine di testo, il sig. Beccega presenta alcune nuove e sue particolari teorie, che ove reggessero alla pratica esecuzione senza incontrare inconvenienti, servirebbero alla costruzione di teatri d'una tal grandiosa magnificenza da venire a gara coi spettacoli dell'antica Roma." (see Cicognara, n. 458).

Book ID: 53364

Price: $5,500.00