Pieraccini, Filippo Maria.

[MIRACULOUS ICONS OF THE VIRGIN MARY IN TUSCANY] Notizie appartenenti alle immagini miracolose di Maria Santissima, che si venerano nella città di Lucca [Notes pertaining to the miraculous images of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in the city of Lucca].

Lucca: Nella Stamperia di Jacopo Giusti, 1760. Small octavo (16.2 × 11 cm). Contemporary full vellum with through nerves to spine extremities; XV, [1], 184 pp. with 11 (of 12) copper plates depicting miraculous images of the Virgin Mary and 1 engraved text vignette showing the arms of Vincenzo Torre, to whom the work is dedicated. Front endpaper with ownership signature by Maria Anna di Poggio; like some other examples we are familiar with, this one is also missing the final copper panel, which does not fit thematically into the series of devotional images, as it depicts a relic (“Frontale di Maria Santissima”); boards somewhat distended and stained; occasional foxing; two leaves with torn edges; else about very good. Item #54476

First edition of this catalog of miraculous images of the Virgin Mary from the Tuscan city of Lucca, in which all the miraculous images of the Virgin Mary known there at the time are reproduced on copperplate engravings and their individual legends are compiled. The author writes about his approach: “I call them laborious because, in truth, these things could hardly be gleaned from books—of which there are few and which, moreover, are not very accurate—but rather from old records preserved in various scattered archives of the churches and individual brotherhoods. I have at times reproduced these records in exactly the same words in which I found them, in order to better preserve the authenticity of the truth and because they not infrequently contain facts and scholarly references that could not be overlooked for the benefit of lovers of our sacred antiquities. For I am convinced that one finds precious gems in such authors (…)" (Transl. from the preface).

Pieraccini begins chronologically with the first miraculous image documented in Lucca. It is said that the Virgin “del Sasso” began to bleed after a soldier, enraged by a lost card game, threw a stone at it. “Drops of blood immediately emerged from the struck spot, flowing down abundantly and even wetting the mantle of the holy image down to its lower edge. Suddenly, the earth opened up (…) and finally the unfortunate man plunged into the gaping abyss, the bottom of which could not be measured. The miraculous blood was then collected by priests, placed in a crystal vessel, and preserved with the utmost care” (Transl. from p.1-13). This is followed by a detailed description of the ornate reliquaries in which the blood was kept and the architectural, sculptural, and pictorial forms that veneration took on in the centuries that followed. In so doing, Pieraccini documents the art-historical changes in the chapel, while also discussing the individual donors and notable celebrations. Using this approach, the text goes on to describe each of the miraculous images that were venerated at the time, thereby providing a comprehensive overview of the interplay between art, architecture, and popular piety.

As of May 2026, KVK, OCLC show two copies in North America.

Price: €1,200.00

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