La fortuna del Quadriregio nelle prime edizioni a stampa

This essay aims to explore the success of Frezzi’s work at the time of its earliest seven editions (issued between 1481 and 1511) by looking at the interest manifested by both the printers/publishers and by the audience. An in-depth analysis of all editions has been carried out, with special care for the princeps (to reconstruct the context within which it was realised by Arndes, also responsible for the Libro delle Sorti by Lorenzo Spirito) and the 1508 edition, whose apparatus of illustrations is analysed to better evaluate the importance of the initiative undertaken by Pacini. The success among the audience is explored through an examination of a representative sample of copies (all known copies of the princeps have been examined) and the analysis of the catalogues of a number of historical libraries, to conclude that Frezzi’s work was not just read by a small group of scholars; instead it reached a fairly wide audience formed of individuals of various background.