FONTANA (Domenico) (1543-1607) Lot n° 50

Della trasportatione dell' obelisco Vaticano et delle fabriche di Nostro Signore Papa Sisto V. Rome, Domenico Basa, 1590 In-folio (408 x 270 mm), folded portrait-frontispiece, engraved illustrated title, 108 ff. (some double-numbered and one f. 66bis), (4) ff. (tables, errata and colophon), and 2 plates, one of which folding. Contemporary soft vellum, vestiges of laces, modern cloth slipcase. (Some marginal spotting; stamp and provenance mark scratched on title). First edition of the illustrated description of one of the most important events in 16th century papal Rome. It is illustrated with 40 plates engraved on copper by Natale Bonifacio (1537-1592) after drawings by Domenico Fontana, including a folded frontispiece portrait of Pope Sixtus V, an engraved title illustrated with a portrait of Fontana in a richly architectural frame, 2 plates outside the text in fine, one of which is folding, and 36 plates included in the pagination. 12 plates represent the moving of the obelisk, the others, Fontana's works for Sixtus V: the Villa Montalto, the chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore, the erection in the apse of this chapel of an Augustinian obelisk, the description of the cathedral of San Giovanni, and various doors of Rome. "The project consisted in placing the obelisk, which had been located flush with the apse of the new basilica, in the center of St. Peter's Square. [This project was part of a series of major works undertaken in the city of Rome by Pope Sixtus V (1521-1590) [...] The transfer of the obelisk, previously mentioned, had been judged unfeasible even by Michelangelo (1475-1564), who had been consulted on the subject by Paul III (1468-1549); the idea had therefore been abandoned. However, only four months after his accession, Sixtus V put the subject back on the agenda, appointing a commission, made up of four prelates, four cardinals and the senator of Rome, to organize a competition for architects. The project presented by Domenico Fontana (1543-1607) was chosen [...]. To accomplish his mission, Fontana decided to lift the obelisk and place it horizontally on a sled to transport it to the center of St. Peter's Square, where it was to be erected. But the apparent simplicity of the procedure should not make us forget that it is a monolith of red granite 25.36 meters high and weighing more than 700 tons! To achieve his goals, Fontana had to