Early edition of an apology for Christianity by the famous theologian and "pre-reformer" Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498). It is his most famous and influential work, and is essentially a celebration of the victory of the Cross over sin and death, and an exploration of what it means to be a Christian. In the treatise, Savanorola depicts the triumph of Christianity in the form of a triumphal procession, as he thought that Christ's invisible works had to be represented in metaphorical form for the human mind to understand them properly. He wrote the work shortly after he had been excommunicated by Pope Alexander VI.
The first edition was published in Florence by Bartolommeo di Libri in ca. 1497, shortly before Savonarola's death. The universal short title catalogue (USTC) lists three editions printed by Di Libri in the same year, which all differ in size and thee number of leaves. The present edition is probably the fourth, and the first printed in Venice. However, although the colophon clearly states the year 1504, it has far more leaves than the 1504 edition listed on the USTC. The number of leaves does correspond to the 1511 edition by the same printer, so the present edition is either an unrecorded variant of the 1504 edition, or it is a 1511 edition which has been wrongly dated.
With the armorial book plate of Kerckhove, and 16th century ownership's entry on the title page ("... (ex li)bris fratris ..."). The binding has been restored, with the contemporary sides laid down, the edges and corners of the boards are somewhat scuffed. The title page is torn and soiled from the removal of a (library) stamp, with some loss of text to the index on the verso. Otherwise in good condition. Adams, p. 519; Brunet V, 161; Edit 16 31845 (mentions only 91 leaves); Giovannozzi 250; Savonarola-Slg der Fürsten Ginori - Conti 141; OPAC SBN TO0E016341 (mentions only 96 leaves); USTC 855175 (mentions only 91 leaves).