1602 BRAMBILLA, A. - Castello S Angelo Con La Girandola.

A print on the firework display called Girandola at the Castello Sant'Angelo in Rome etched by Brambilla, showing a nocturnal scene, in the background the castle, from three of its towers fireworks and smoke developing, in the middle ground the river Tiber and a bridge, in the foreground further fireworks and a crowd of spectators. Engraved title and text below the engraving.

This print engraved by A. Brambilla in 1579 was published by C. Duchetti in the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence), this exemplar published by Orlandi in 1602.

Since 1471, a firework display called the 'Girandola' was held at the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, the papal fortress (originally built as a mausoleum for the Roman Emperor Hadrian). The firework display was sponsored by the papacy and held when a new pope was elected or crowned, at Easter, and on 28 June (the eve of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul).
The Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title ‘Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae’ first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus.

A unique opportunity to acquire a fine example of a print from the Lafreri School.!
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Reference: Ref : Suzanne Boorsch: Fireworks! Four Centuries of Pyrotechnics in Prints and Drawings, exh. Cat., New York, Metr.Mus., 2000