[Early Printing] Ariosto, Ludovico, Comedia intitolata

[Early Printing] Ariosto, Ludovico
Comedia intitolata Cassaria, con l’argumento aggiunto et non piu stampato
(Venice: Nicolo Zoppino), 1538. Small 8vo. 36 numbered leaves (157x 96mm). Illustrated with woodcut title vignette profile portrait of Ariosto. 19th-century brown calf, stamped in gilt, joints and extremities rubbed, a few small blisters; minor soiling to title-page and text, old ink scrawl in left blank border of title vignette. USTC 810599; OCLC 1642543263. Ariosto’s Cassaria is considered the first (post-Classical) comedy in a vernacular European language. The play was first performed during carnival at the Ducal Palace in Ferrara, Italy in 1508 or 1509, and staged against a painted backdrop by Pellegrino da Udine. The first edition of the text is thought to have been first printed in 1509, and was reprinted eight times during the 16th century in both verse and prose versions. The prose text in the copy above follows a prologue and argument, both in verse.
Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533) was an Italian poet, best known as the author of the romance epic "Orlando Furioso". Ariosto, who coined the term “humanism“ (umanesimo), is widely considered the greatest narrative poet of the Renaissance.