IRIDE MESSAGGIERA - 1654

8vo, pp. [ii], 16; with full-page engraved title, woodcut headpieces and initials; some foxing and browning throughout; engraved title tightly cropped at foot; in later pink wrappers, lightly stained. Very rare poem, written to celebrate the wedding of Francesco Salvator Garzoni and Chiara Mansi, which took place in Lucca in 1654. One of a number of works written for the wedding by poets including Francesco Sbarra, Iride Messaggiera describes the Goddess Iris (representing the rainbow) naked in her chariot, adorned with myrtle, with a burning torch, and the engraved title-page depicts a similar scene, although Iris's nakedness is modified to suit image rather than text. The title-page also, in the background, contains an image of the groom's family home, Villa Garzoni in Collodi, near Lucca, famous for its gardens with their giochi d'aqua, which had been completed only a couple of years before the printing of this work. We have been unable to locate any further reference to Altogradi beyond the entry in the Lucca state library card catalogue for Iride messaggiera. Pinto, Nuptialia, 291; not in OCLC or SBN, although there appears to be a copy in the Biblioteca statale di Lucca.