Il mondo festeggiante balletto a cavallo fatto nel teatro congiunto al palazzo del Sereniss. Gran Duca, per le reali nozze de’ Serenissimi Principi Cosimo terzo di Toscana, e Margherita Luisa d’Orleans

4to (210x157 mm). [2], 7-66, [2 blank] pp. and [3] engraved folding plates. The text begins on page 7, pages 3-6 were never printed. Collation: [A]^4(-[A]2.3) B-H⁴ I². The final leaf I2 is a blank. Woodcut ornament on the title page. Woodcut initial and headpiece. Contemporary limp vellum (slightly soiled). First plate carefully washed and pressed, otherwise a very good, clean, and genuine copy.

Rare original edition of this festival book published to commemorate the equestrian ballet that was performed for the wedding of Cosimo III de Medici (1642-1723) and Marguerite Louise d Orléans (1645-1721) on 20 June, 1661. This elaborate theatrical and mechanical spectacle was performed in the amphitheater behind the Palazzo Pitti, now known as the Boboli Gardens. Alessandro Carducci, the court choreographer, designed the elaborate ballet and wrote the account, Giovanni Andrea Moniglia wrote the celebratory poems, Domenico Anglesi (ca. 1610-1674) composed the music, and Ferdinando Tacca (1619-1686) designed the complex machinery of the performance. Stefano della Bella (1610-1664) engraved the plates, which depict the grand cavalcade of Hercules, accompanied by the chariots of the Sun and the Moon and followed by knights representing Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; the knights’ teams and the goddesses’ carriages around Mount Atlas; and the plan of the tournament and equestrian ballet, with detailed diagrams of the maneuvers. In the center of plate 1 is the colossal figure of Atlas, an imposing machine that not only dominated the arena but also sang, opening to reveal four female singers within the celestial sphere he supported. Prince Cosimo himself appeared as Hercules, identifiable in the engraving by his club and lion skin.