Artifacts
9366 Delle pietre antiche
Il trattato sui marmi romani di Faustino Corsi
Curated by Caterina Napoleone. Texts by Caterina Napoleone, Faustino Corsi, Luca Canali. Introduction by Luca Canali
2001 / 168 PAGES.
Language: Italian
Edited by Caterina Napoleone, the publication aims to present Faustino Corsi’s 1845 treatise Delle pietre antiche (On Ancient Stones), in which the Roman lawyer compiled a precise and meticulous description of numerous marble specimens.
Faustino Corsi’s treatise Delle pietre antiche first appeared in 1828, but was soon expanded in a second edition in 1833 and then in a third in 1845. It is the latter edition that is presented in this volume, which Caterina Napoleone enriches with an introductory essay in which she retraces the history of the marbles of ancient Rome and the fascination they have aroused over the centuries and up to the present day in the eyes of emperors, sovereigns, collectors, and artists. Of all the various personalities who contributed to giving marbles and ancient stones dignity and value, it was Faustino Corsi who started a systematic sampling of marbles accompanied by their respective catalogues, and his treatise remains a point of reference for the historical-archaeological and scientific study of marbles. The treatise is followed by in-depth Notes edited by Caterina Napoleone, two letters in the appendix –one of which was written by the lawyer Corsi – and, in conclusion, nineteen plates with 171 sampled marbles and their captions with their names and provenance.