First Italian translation of the Anabasis of Alexander, widely regarded as "the most complete and trustworthy account of Alexander that we possess" (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Flavius Arrianus (or Arrian, ca. 95-ca. 180 CE), a Greek historian, philosopher, and statesman, based the work largely on the now-lost eyewitness accounts of Ptolemy and Aristobulus. Modelled on Xenophon's Anabasis, it follows Alexander the Great from his accession to his death and is widely regarded as the most reliable ancient narrative of his campaigns.
The translation was made by the Italian polymath Pietro Lauro (1510-1568), who translated numerous Greek, Latin, and Spanish works into the vernacular. The present work formed part of an ambitious series of translations issued by Michele Tramezzino in the 1540s, through which Lauro introduced several important classical and historical texts to an Italian audience.
With an older bookseller's description tipped onto the front pastedown. The front board is somewhat rubbed, the title label is torn, barely affecting the text. The leaves are occasionally stained or soiled. Otherwise in good condition. BM STC Italian p. 57; EDIT 16, CNCE 3118; OPAC SBN TO0E\013732; USTC 811127; not in Adams.