signed
circa 1710 · Pesaro (?)
by Duchy of Urbino.
Pesaro (?), circa 1710. 3 volumes, small folio (200 x 282 mm). Manuscript on paper in various hands. Provenance: all three volumes bear the bookplate of Frederick North, prime minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. In the 19th century, the books were purchased by the British book collector Thomas Phillipps and are listed in the Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum in bibliotheca D. Thomæ Phillipps, Bart., A. D. 1837. All have a small, numbered label at the foot of the spine showing the catalogue number. The three books are bracketed together in Phillipps' catalogue as "Scritture della Casa Feltria.
Background: From the 12th century, the Duchy of Urbino was held by the House of Feltria (Montefeltro, and later, della Rovere families). It flourished especially during the Renaissance, when it became a powerful cultural and political center under the leadership of Federico da Montefeltro (d. 1482). By the late 1500s, the Duchy had passed through succession to Francesco Maria II della Rovere, who had no children with his estranged wife, Lucrezia d'Este (who died in 1598). With the Church poised to take control of the Duchy upon Francesco's demise, he married his 14-year-old cousin in a desperate effort to produce an heir. They produced a son, who was married in his early teens to young Claudia de' Medici, and that couple had a daughter, who became Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Seeing no male heir to the clan, Pope Urban VIII annexed the Duchy into the Papal States in 1631. Yet another della Rovere daughter, Lucrezia, married into the Lante clan. The Lante then adopted her ancestral name, Montefeltro della Rovere, and her claim to the Duchy of Urbino.
I. Documenti o siano Copie d'istromenti autentici con le loro Dichiarationi delle ragioni Patrimoniali et a vite della Casa Feltri, e della Rovere, e di Successori....
[6] leaves, including diagrammatic family tree, [2] blank, 512 numbered pages in diverse hands, [7] leaves index. Pagination includes at p. 487 a folding pen-and-ink pictorial family tree by Francesco Maria Morelli, dated 1707. Some printed documents bound in.
In plain vellum over boards, with gilt-lettered label on spine ("Scritture della Casa Feltria MS"). Remains of silk ties. Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792).
A collection of documentary evidence intended (as stated in a prefatory note) to "infallibly justify the legitimate claim of Count Antonio [Lante della Rovere] with no need to look further."
II. Documenti e scritture concernenti le ragioni della Casa Feltria della Rovere, e de' successori della medesima sopra gli effetti patrimoniali nello stato d'Urbino.
364 leaves, mostly unnumbered, and large folding pen-and-ink rendition of the Feltria family tree, hand-colored; a two-page pen-and-ink relief map of the Vicariato of Mondavio, and three manuscript letters signed by Antonio Lante della Rovere bound in. Documents in several hands, some identified as notaries. Various paper stocks with diverse watermarks. Some leaves with notarial blindstamps. Diagrammatic family trees in text.
Contents: [2 blank] 28, 1 blank, 3 ALs, 26, 1 blank, 7, 5, blank, "Bolle:" tp, 5 (index), 36 [i.e., 72 numbered pages], "Letter of Paul III:" tp, 21, 3, "Bolle dall'archivio della casa Barberini:" tp, 5, 1 blank, 14 (blindstamped), 19, 1 blank, 20, 1 blank, 2, "Bolla di Adriano Papa VI dell'anno 1573 in cui previa l'assoluzione del Duca Francesco Maria d'Urbino per l'homicidio commesso in personal del Cardinale Legato di Bologna lo rein al Ducato:" tp, 16, 1 blank, 6, (1624 "transactio:") 62 numbered leaves, (FM the first testament 10, 1 blank, 12, two-page pen-and-ink relief map dated 1606 "Vicariato di Mondavio", 5, 3, 1 blank, 3
This collection appears to make the case that the Roman Lante family, Dukes of Bomarzo, are the rightful heir of the Duchy of Urbino. The manuscript presents in evidence a series of legal documents issued by a long line of popes which guarantee the Duchy to the descendants of the Feltria and the Della Rovere families forever. It goes on to make the case, both in narrative and documentary form, that the Lante family, and in particular Antonio Lante della Rovere, carry the line of succession through family marriages with the Medici.
Many of the documents appear to be copies in the hand of the notary Domenico Gianantonio in the first decade of the 18th century from originals held in Pesaro and in Rome, although several different hands appear in the later pages of the volume. The collection also includes three manuscript letters bearing the holograph signature of Antonio Lante della Rovere dated 1709, a pen-and-ink map of the Vicarate of Mondavio dated 1606, a copy of the last will and testament of Duke Francesco Maria I della Rovere, and, of course, a large folding hand-colored family tree of the clan.
In plain vellum over boards, with gilt-lettered label on spine ("Scritture della Casa Feltria MS"). Swath of vellum missing from spine, exposing sewing and cords. Lower hinge detaching. Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792).
III. Immemorabile Comincio della Legione Feltria suoi Conti, Duchi, e Descendenti, scritto da Ingenuo Autore.
[132] leaves, last four blank, and blank leaves 88-90, in clear, confident italic cursive, 24 lines per page, with wide, even margins. Marginal notes in similar hand. Folding hand-drawn family tree 320 x 450 mm, in pen and ink. Names and dates filled in. Schematic family tree at end of part I of the text.
Contents:
Informazione de i Dritti che appartengono alli Descendenti Successori delle Due Case di Montefeltro e della Rovere, e loro stati
Diverse Bolle et Investiture, Concessioni, Assolutioni, Paci, Concordie, Tregue, Capitoli Ordini favorevoli ai Conti di Montefeltro e Conti e Duchi d'Urbino della Casa Feltria della Rovere
La Devolutione alla Sede Apostolica, degli Stati di Francesco Maria II, di nome della Rovere, Sesto et Ultimo Duca d'Urbino, Descritta da Antonio Donato Nobile Veneto
Sommario o raccolta di tutte le donate concessioni et investiture fatte del Ducato d'Urbino Cominciando da Pipino Re di Francia infino al tempo di Pio IV da Mons. Ortenzio Rossi, Comissario [sic] della Camera Apostolica
In plain vellum over boards, with gilt-lettered label on spine ("Memor. Della Casa Feltria"). Remains of silk ties. Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792).
This volume, written in a single fine cursive hand throughout, with wide margins on uniform stock, completes the collection with a narrative defense of the Lante della Rovere claim "by a disinterested author" (da ingenuo autore) starting from time immemorial. Following further exhibits in the same secretarial hand, is the text of Antonio Donato's account of the "devolving" of the Duchy of Urbino to the Papacy, a document that did not go into print (as far as we can tell) until 1776.
The scribe appends a personal note of doubt to Donato's account, closing the manuscript with "A reply to the Foregoing Account" (that is, to Donato's), calling attention to "some ambiguity, perhaps a bit too far-fetched" (Qualche amibiguità, forse un poco troppo ricercato dall'autore) favoring the Apostolic See. The writer closes with the lines, "Seeing the succession of the House of Feltria and the House of Della Rovere cut off as such, where I was faithfully born, I wanted to add a note here to reflect some corrective for the reader." (Inventory #: 6826)
Background: From the 12th century, the Duchy of Urbino was held by the House of Feltria (Montefeltro, and later, della Rovere families). It flourished especially during the Renaissance, when it became a powerful cultural and political center under the leadership of Federico da Montefeltro (d. 1482). By the late 1500s, the Duchy had passed through succession to Francesco Maria II della Rovere, who had no children with his estranged wife, Lucrezia d'Este (who died in 1598). With the Church poised to take control of the Duchy upon Francesco's demise, he married his 14-year-old cousin in a desperate effort to produce an heir. They produced a son, who was married in his early teens to young Claudia de' Medici, and that couple had a daughter, who became Grand Duchess of Tuscany. Seeing no male heir to the clan, Pope Urban VIII annexed the Duchy into the Papal States in 1631. Yet another della Rovere daughter, Lucrezia, married into the Lante clan. The Lante then adopted her ancestral name, Montefeltro della Rovere, and her claim to the Duchy of Urbino.
I. Documenti o siano Copie d'istromenti autentici con le loro Dichiarationi delle ragioni Patrimoniali et a vite della Casa Feltri, e della Rovere, e di Successori....
[6] leaves, including diagrammatic family tree, [2] blank, 512 numbered pages in diverse hands, [7] leaves index. Pagination includes at p. 487 a folding pen-and-ink pictorial family tree by Francesco Maria Morelli, dated 1707. Some printed documents bound in.
In plain vellum over boards, with gilt-lettered label on spine ("Scritture della Casa Feltria MS"). Remains of silk ties. Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792).
A collection of documentary evidence intended (as stated in a prefatory note) to "infallibly justify the legitimate claim of Count Antonio [Lante della Rovere] with no need to look further."
II. Documenti e scritture concernenti le ragioni della Casa Feltria della Rovere, e de' successori della medesima sopra gli effetti patrimoniali nello stato d'Urbino.
364 leaves, mostly unnumbered, and large folding pen-and-ink rendition of the Feltria family tree, hand-colored; a two-page pen-and-ink relief map of the Vicariato of Mondavio, and three manuscript letters signed by Antonio Lante della Rovere bound in. Documents in several hands, some identified as notaries. Various paper stocks with diverse watermarks. Some leaves with notarial blindstamps. Diagrammatic family trees in text.
Contents: [2 blank] 28, 1 blank, 3 ALs, 26, 1 blank, 7, 5, blank, "Bolle:" tp, 5 (index), 36 [i.e., 72 numbered pages], "Letter of Paul III:" tp, 21, 3, "Bolle dall'archivio della casa Barberini:" tp, 5, 1 blank, 14 (blindstamped), 19, 1 blank, 20, 1 blank, 2, "Bolla di Adriano Papa VI dell'anno 1573 in cui previa l'assoluzione del Duca Francesco Maria d'Urbino per l'homicidio commesso in personal del Cardinale Legato di Bologna lo rein al Ducato:" tp, 16, 1 blank, 6, (1624 "transactio:") 62 numbered leaves, (FM the first testament 10, 1 blank, 12, two-page pen-and-ink relief map dated 1606 "Vicariato di Mondavio", 5, 3, 1 blank, 3
This collection appears to make the case that the Roman Lante family, Dukes of Bomarzo, are the rightful heir of the Duchy of Urbino. The manuscript presents in evidence a series of legal documents issued by a long line of popes which guarantee the Duchy to the descendants of the Feltria and the Della Rovere families forever. It goes on to make the case, both in narrative and documentary form, that the Lante family, and in particular Antonio Lante della Rovere, carry the line of succession through family marriages with the Medici.
Many of the documents appear to be copies in the hand of the notary Domenico Gianantonio in the first decade of the 18th century from originals held in Pesaro and in Rome, although several different hands appear in the later pages of the volume. The collection also includes three manuscript letters bearing the holograph signature of Antonio Lante della Rovere dated 1709, a pen-and-ink map of the Vicarate of Mondavio dated 1606, a copy of the last will and testament of Duke Francesco Maria I della Rovere, and, of course, a large folding hand-colored family tree of the clan.
In plain vellum over boards, with gilt-lettered label on spine ("Scritture della Casa Feltria MS"). Swath of vellum missing from spine, exposing sewing and cords. Lower hinge detaching. Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792).
III. Immemorabile Comincio della Legione Feltria suoi Conti, Duchi, e Descendenti, scritto da Ingenuo Autore.
[132] leaves, last four blank, and blank leaves 88-90, in clear, confident italic cursive, 24 lines per page, with wide, even margins. Marginal notes in similar hand. Folding hand-drawn family tree 320 x 450 mm, in pen and ink. Names and dates filled in. Schematic family tree at end of part I of the text.
Contents:
Informazione de i Dritti che appartengono alli Descendenti Successori delle Due Case di Montefeltro e della Rovere, e loro stati
Diverse Bolle et Investiture, Concessioni, Assolutioni, Paci, Concordie, Tregue, Capitoli Ordini favorevoli ai Conti di Montefeltro e Conti e Duchi d'Urbino della Casa Feltria della Rovere
La Devolutione alla Sede Apostolica, degli Stati di Francesco Maria II, di nome della Rovere, Sesto et Ultimo Duca d'Urbino, Descritta da Antonio Donato Nobile Veneto
Sommario o raccolta di tutte le donate concessioni et investiture fatte del Ducato d'Urbino Cominciando da Pipino Re di Francia infino al tempo di Pio IV da Mons. Ortenzio Rossi, Comissario [sic] della Camera Apostolica
In plain vellum over boards, with gilt-lettered label on spine ("Memor. Della Casa Feltria"). Remains of silk ties. Armorial bookplate of Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (1732-1792).
This volume, written in a single fine cursive hand throughout, with wide margins on uniform stock, completes the collection with a narrative defense of the Lante della Rovere claim "by a disinterested author" (da ingenuo autore) starting from time immemorial. Following further exhibits in the same secretarial hand, is the text of Antonio Donato's account of the "devolving" of the Duchy of Urbino to the Papacy, a document that did not go into print (as far as we can tell) until 1776.
The scribe appends a personal note of doubt to Donato's account, closing the manuscript with "A reply to the Foregoing Account" (that is, to Donato's), calling attention to "some ambiguity, perhaps a bit too far-fetched" (Qualche amibiguità, forse un poco troppo ricercato dall'autore) favoring the Apostolic See. The writer closes with the lines, "Seeing the succession of the House of Feltria and the House of Della Rovere cut off as such, where I was faithfully born, I wanted to add a note here to reflect some corrective for the reader." (Inventory #: 6826)
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