2019 Essays

Triumpho de los santos, Cagliari

Markey, Lia

Triumpho de los santos del Reynos e Cerdeña: a la Magestad Catholica del Rey Don Phelippe IIII(Cagliari 1635) demonstrates the Spanish presence in Sardinia in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries and represents a rare example of an illustrated book published on the island. Dedicated to King Philip IV and written in Castilian, it documents Christian saints and martyrs, relics, catacombs, and monuments in Sardinia and particularly in Cagliari. The illustrations are variously achieved with letterpress, woodcut, and engraving. The large-scale circa 600-page volume appears to be the only book by its author, Dionisio Bonfanti, a “doctor of theology and law,” though he did publish a short pamphlet two years later entitled, Breve Tratado del primado de Cerdeña y Corcega.