Rare first and only edition of the biography of the Augustinian friar Alipio de Luca di San Giuseppe (1617-1645) from Palermo, by Francesco Maria Maggio (1612-1686), an Italian missionary in the Middle East.
Ottoman pirates captured Alipio's ship on 1 July 1643 and brought it to Tripoli. He converted to Islam, but repented and was martyred on 17 February 1645 when he told the Pasha (Mehmed Saqizli) that he wished to return to his Christian faith. The account continues after his death, telling about his beatification and declaration of sainthood. The plates show the martyrdom and the holy relics of the Saint.
With owner's inscription. One of the three plates slightly larger than the bookblock and folded in at the foot, otherwise in very good condition. Spine damaged. ICCU UM1E\007052 (9 copies); Streit XVI, p. 525, no. 4001; WorldCat (6 copies); not in Atabey; Chahine.