Gigli, Giancinto — Diario Romano (1608-1670)

Roma, Tumminelli, 1958. Softcover. Small quarto. Softcover. Illustrated paper wraps with white titles. 517 pages, 24 leaves of plates : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm. Italian text. In his *Diary*, Giacinto Gigli is not—nor does he claim to be—a historian in the scientific sense of the word; nevertheless, he offers the historian material that is, admittedly, raw, yet precious. He is merely a diarist—and a highly personal one at that—who records those contemporary events of which he most easily becomes aware and which hold the greatest interest for him: a member of the petty bourgeoisie and a placid family man. Like a true Roman, he sees nothing but his own Rome; and, knowing that it is the *Caput Mundi*, he feels no need to cast his gaze beyond its walls to scrutinize what is transpiring in the rest of the world. The news that reaches Rome from the outside—and circulates within the middle-class milieu in which he lives—suffices for him regarding the world that lies beyond Rome. —P. 13. VG-. General wear around the edges including some tearin/spliting to the soube at head/tail and along joints.