Beinecke MS 686
Italy, s. XVI 2/4 (1534)
Antonio de Ferrariis, De situ Iapygiae

1. ff. 1r-35v	+ Ad clarissimum virum Ioannem Baptistam Spinellum, comitem choriatum, 
Antonius Galateus medicus de situ Iapygi?. Qu? nunc Italia dicitur ab Alpibus ortum habens 
supero et infero mari abluitur inque ortum hibernum et meridiem porrecta perpetuis Apoenini 
iugis duabus peninsulis seu, ut Gr?ci dicunt, chersonesis finitur ... hoc exigit locorum ratio et 
conviviorum magistri semper aliquid quod maxime delectet in finem reservant, sit Neritum long? 
finis carth?que vi?que. Finis.

Antonio de Ferrariis (called himself Galateo after his birthplace, d. 1517), De situ Iapygiae, M. 
Paone, ed. (Galatina, 1974); V. Zacchino, ed. (Lecce, 1975).

2. f. 36r-v	Antonius Galateus medicus Loisio Palatino salutem. Doleo, mi Palatine, nostr? 
regionis celebritate ita concidisse, ut, si vestigia, et, ut sic dicam, busta magnarum urbium 
plerisque in locis cernantur, memoria tamen nulla extet aut rerum gestarum aut ipsarum urbium 
aut peculiarium litterarum, quibus Iapyges nostri, antequam Gr?ci post captam Troiam 
adventarent, utebantur ... Nec longe a Lupiis sit? sunt, forte inter ipsas urbes nihiloplus quam 
spacium XIII stadiorum interiacet, veroque nomine ob corruptam ab incolis appellationem 
deceptus est. Finis 1534.

Antonio de  Ferrariis, Letter to Aloysio Palatino about Iapygia. 

Artt. 1-2. About the author, see Dizionario biografico degli Italiani, v. 33 (1987), pp. 738-741. 
His work is a geographical, historical, epigraphical and literary description of Iapygia, i.e. the 
Southeastern part of Italy (now Apulia). In the margins of art. 1 the proper names (sources, 
historical persons, places) mentioned in the text are repeated. A few marginal notes.


Paper, ff. I + 36 + I, 330 x 225 mm. In-folio folding. Water stains. Some pages badly damaged 
by the acid ink.

Collation impossible due to tight binding. "Typographical" horizontal catchwords at right on all 
pages.

Written in one column of 24-31 lines. The bounding-lines are marked by folds in the paper, c. 
150-155 mm. apart.

Three scribes, all writing Humanistica Cursiva: hand A copied ff. 1r-20v, 24v-26v, 31r-36r line 
10, 36v last three lines (Libraria); hand B copied ff. 21r-24r, 27r-30v (Currens); hand C  copied f. 
36r line 10 - 36v, except the last three lines (Currens under Gothic influence).

No decoration.

The damaged covers of the original binding are mounted on the new binding in brown leather: 
blind-tooled , featuring two square frames bordered by fillets and rolls.

On the front fly-leaf v the note s. XVIIIex, by Giambattista Giovio: "Di quest'opera d'Antonio 
Galateo medico consulta il tomo VI parte seconda della Storia della letteratura italiana del 
Tiraboschi alla pagina 87".  Perhaps in the possession of Paolo Giovio (1483-1552). From the 
Giovio Library, Como. Purchased on the Edwin J. Beinecke Fund.

Albert Derolez

R 17.02.09