Folio (287 x 187 mm). Woodcut device of royal arms on title-page, woodcut initials. (Title-page laid down and slightly soiled, some spotting or browning.) Contemporary vellum, yapp edges, title hand-lettered on spine (lacking ties, hinges broken, covers slightly bowed, soiled). 

FIRST EDITION of Sarpi's history of the Council of Trent, published under the pseudonym "Pietro Soave Polano," and condemned by the Vatican due to its anti-papal stance.  The manuscript was smuggled out of Italy with the help of the British Embassy and was translated into Latin, English and French. ESTC S116701; STC 21760.