Spinola, Fabio A[mbrogio] and [Dominico Chilesi], translator.

[MIRACLE-WORKING FOUNDER OF THE CELESTINE, OR TURCHINE, NUNS] Das Leben der Ehrwürdigen Dienerin Gottes, der Mutter Mariae Victoria, Stiffterin dess Ordens deren Annuntiaten Coelestinen. Erstlichen in wällischer Sprach beschrieben durch P. Fabium Ambrosium Spinola der Societät Jesu. Jüngsten in die Teutsche versetzet von einem gedachter Societät Priester.

Linz: Johann Jacob Mayr, 1681. Quarto (19.8 × 15 cm). Contemporary vellum over wooden boards; engraved frontis (unsigned); [12], 161, 247, [6] pp. Edges red; sewn decorative headband; with two original ornamental metal clasps. Boards somewhat soiled and rubbed; small paper strip affixed beneath cut-out early ownership signature (above woodcut device on title page); else about very good. Item #55207

German translation of this Italian vita of Maria Vittoria de Fornari Strata (1562–1617), founder of the Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, also called the Turchine Nuns for the turquoise color of their habit, or the Celestial Annonciades. Second translation, with a 1662 French version also documented; the present German version is not documented in North American libraries and features an original full-page engraving depicting Strata and a fellow nun. An earlier vita by the Jesuit Ferdinando Melzi was published in French at Lyon in 1631, and another by a female sister circulated in manuscript, but OCLC and OPAC SBN fail to show Italian publications preceding the first edition of Spinola's work (Genoa, 1649). Spinola (1593–1671) was a Jesuit priest and instructor in physics, logic, and biblical studies at the Collegio Romano between 1623 and 1634; he later served as head of the Casa Professa in Genoa.

Strata was a Genoese noblewoman who married but was widowed in her twenties, after having nine children. After a personal crisis, with the support of her Jesuit professor Bernardino Zanoni, she developed the idea of establishing a new cloistered order of religious women. Once her surviving children had all entered religious life, she managed to procure the financial support of a wealthy Genoese couple, and to convince church authorities of the worthiness of her new cause, a difficult task given the strong presence of the cloistered Discalced Carmelites in Genoa. In 1604, the order was approved by Pope Clement VIII and ten members were received that same year, making their solemn vows in September 1605. The order spread quickly throughout Italy, France, Germany, and Austria; only a small number of convents remain today. The engraving, which only seems to have been used in this edition, shows Strata with an important early companion, Mother Maria Magdalena, who passed away shortly after the convent was established. Both are wearing the order's habit and are receiving its statutes from the Holy Virgin, who thus expresses her personal patronage of the Celestines.

The order was known for strict discipline and its founder was renown for her particularly virtuous life. Following numerous attempts to promote her case, including a new vita published in 1828, Leo XII approved two posthumous “prodigiose guarigioni” (extraordinary healings) attributed to Strata and she was beatified in 1828, after which the canonization process stalled, however. Strata's body was also considered to be incorrupt upon her death and after exhumation in 1629. While most accounts offer scant details, the present vita contains many additional and otherwise undocumented accounts of Maria Victoria's purported graces, visions, and miraculous deeds. For instance, Spinola describes how she once accidentally filled up the convent's wine barrels with vinegar instead of wine, but was able to avert all signs of damage through fervent prayer. He details healing miracles that occurred during Strata's lifetime, as well as states of mystical trance and the ability to predict the future. A separate chapter discusses persons who were healed from various afflictions by appealing to the deceased in prayer or by touching a rosary that had belonged to her.

This edition features an effusive dedication to Empress Eleonora Magdalena Theresia, wife of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, signed by nuns of the Celestine Convent at Steyr, Austria, which was founded in 1646. The convent church was constructed between 1676 and 1781, clearly with significant support by the Empress, who was known for her high level of education, zealous patronage, and special dedication to Catholic causes. She assisted her husband in his imperial duties and became regent herself for a brief period following Leopold's early death.

For a lengthy discussion of Strata's difficult path toward establishing the Turchine Order, see Thérèse Peeters, Trust in the Catholic Reformation: Genoa 1594–1664 (2022).

VD 17 23:304241A (two copies in Germany, one imperfect). See De Backer/Sommervogel VII, 1449, 5 (the Italian first edition).

All editions are rare. We can only trace two institutions in North America with holdings of the Italian and French editions; this German translation is not held outside of Germany, and in Austria only at Linz.

Price: €1,350.00

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