Saint Donatus / and Printers Note from Antiquitatum civitatis Fori Julii
This is a double-sided engraved and letterpress sheet from Antiquitatum civitatis Fori Julii by Basilio Zancarolo, an antiquarian work devoted to the history of Forum Julii (modern Cividale del Friuli). The work was first issued under Venetian license in 1658. One side of the sheet bears an engraved image of Saint Donatus, while the other contains a printed “Lectori” notice from the printer of an earlier edition, followed by the official Venetian imprimatur authorizing the work’s publication.
This sheet was likely printed for inclusion in a later anthology edition, most probably as part of the Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae, produced in Leiden in the late 17th or early 18th century. Such composite editions gathered earlier regional antiquarian studies into a single monumental reference work, and their plates are frequently encountered today as separate sheets.
The engraved side depicts Saint Donatus Martyr, the patron and protector of Forum Julii. He is shown full-length in ecclesiastical dress, holding the palm of martyrdom and a book, and presenting a small model of the city in his outstretched hand. The image functions as a civic and devotional emblem, linking the saint directly to the protection and identity of the city. Below the image appears the inscription identifying him as Fori Julii Protector.
The reverse side features a printer’s address to the reader (“Lectori”), explaining that errors in the text arose from the condition of the author’s manuscript and the difficulties of copying a posthumous work. Rather than emending the text conjecturally, the printer states that the original wording has been preserved, asking the reader’s understanding. This is followed by the Venetian license issued by the Riformatori dello Studio di Padova, dated 9 May 1658, formally granting permission to print and sell the book. Such leaves were essential components of early modern scholarly publishing and document the official approval process behind the work.
Leiden between 1704 and 1725
Each Plate Approx 28 x 48 cm (Full Sheet Including Margins)
The Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum Italiae formed part of the monumental Thesaurus Antiquitatum et Historiarum series compiled by Johann Georg Graevius (1632–1703) and published in Leiden between 1704 and 1725. Overseen by the Dutch publisher Pieter van der Aa, the folio volumes combined texts, inscriptions, and richly engraved illustrations of monuments and antiquities from across Italy.
Many of the plates, such as those from the Monumenta Brixiana section devoted to finds from Brescia, document Roman statues, coins, inscriptions, and architectural remains. Executed in van der Aa’s workshop, the engravings often drew on earlier antiquarian sources but were presented in a format that reflected the 18th-century revival of interest in classical antiquity.
Conceived as a comprehensive resource for scholars, the Thesaurus also became a visual library for artists and thinkers of the early Neoclassical age, preserving and disseminating the legacy of ancient Italy through both scholarship and imagery.
Below: Full sheets with margins
