The auction of Antique Books and Livres d'artistes held on 25–26 February 2026 marks a new chapter for the national book market.
Over €1.4 million in sales — with a departmental record for a single auction — 93% sell-through rate, and 180% increase on starting prices. A result that combines performance and prestige, culminating in the exceptional sale of the Tito Livio owned by Princess Ippolita Maria Sforza for €537,600.
After extensive and rigorous historical-bibliographical research, carried out with the contribution of an authoritative community of scholars, the department led by Stefania Pandakovic — already in the spotlight in 2024 with the sale of the Codice Santini — achieved a top result on the national scene. The fifteenth-century manuscript, containing the transcription of the first decade of the Ab Urbe Condita by the Roman historian, emerged as the star of an auction that sets new standards for the sector in Italy. A success that demonstrates the ability to integrate research, preservation, and enhancement within a high-profile cultural and commercial project, which also brought to light a central female figure in Renaissance patronage.
Lot 101
Il manoscritto ritrovato della principessa Ippolita Maria Sforza. TITO LIVIO. (59 a.C - 17 d.C.) - AB URBE CONDITA. PRIMA DECADE.
Manoscritto miniato su pergamena, metà del XV secolo.
Sold € 537.600
Excellent results were recorded across all three auction sessions, thanks to a selection of the highest quality. Following a chronological path, the sixteenth-century segment stood out with Andrea Palladio’s I quattro libri dell’architettura (€19,200), the most celebrated architectural treatise in history and a cornerstone in the dissemination of Renaissance classicism worldwide. High appreciation was also shown for the extraordinary illustrated volume by Johannes Hevelius (€44,800), a key reference for observational science and seventeenth-century astronomical publishing.
Lot 21
PALLADIO, Andrea, I quattro libri dell'architettura. Venice: Domenico De Franceschi, 1570.
Sold € 19.200
Lot 41
HEVELIUS, Johannes, Prodromus cometicus. Danzica: Simon Reiniger, 1665 [LEGATO CON:] - Descriptio cometae anno aereae Christi 1665 exorti. Danzica: Simon Reiniger, 1666 [E CON:] - Cometographia, totem naturam cometarum. exhibens.. Danzica: Simon Reiniger, 1668.
Sold € 44.800
The entire Grand Tour section was also rich in successes, beginning with the monumental work by Sir William Hamilton and Pietro Fabris, Campi Phlegraei, featuring 59 plates on volcanic activity between Naples and Catania (€38,400). Following were the refined illustrated journeys dedicated to the Lombardy region by Francesco Bernucca, Federico and Carolina Lose with Viaggio pittorico e storico ai tre laghi Maggiore, di Lugano e Como (€21,760), and by Jean Frédéric Osterwald with Voyage pittoresque de Genève à Milan par le Simplon (€19,200).
Lot 30
HAMILTON, Sir William (1730-1803) - Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the two Sicilies as They have been communicated to the Royal Society of Londra. [LEGATO CON:] - Supplement to the Campi Phlegraei. Naples: [Pietro Fabris], 1776, 1779.
Sold € 38.400
Lot 99
BERNUCCA, Francesco - LOSE, Federico e Carolina
Viaggio pittorico e storico ai tre laghi Maggiore, di Lugano e Como. Milan: Francesco Bernucca, s.d.
Sold € 21.760
Lot 13
OSTERVALD, Jean Frederic
Voyage pittoresque de Geneve a Milan par le Simplon. Paris: Didot, 1811.
Sold € 19.200
The artist books section continues to strengthen, having become a central field of contemporary collecting. Standouts included Tullio d’Albisola’s Futurist poster L’Anguria lirica (a long passionate poem), with illustrations by Bruno Munari and an introduction by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (€30,720), as well as Alighiero Boetti’s conceptual work Classifying the thousand longest rivers in the world (€19,200).
Lot 60
TULLIO D'ALBISOLA (1899-1971) - Bruno MUNARI (1907-1998) - L'Anguria lirica (lungo poema passionale). Presentazione di Marinetti (dell'Accademia d'Italia). Chiarimento di V. Orazi. Illustrazioni di Bruno Munari. Rome and Savona: Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, senza data [1933?].
Sold € 30.720
Lot 74
BOETTI, Alighiero (1940-1994) - Classifying the thousand longest rivers in the world. Ascoli Piceno: Sergio D’Auria, 1977.
Sold € 19.200