18th-century manuscript copy on paper, in 4° (280 x 190 mm); 7 blank leaves, 10 no. of lists; 115 pages; 8 blank leaves at the end. 22-line Latin text in lowercase italics by a single hand in brown ink, with marginal notes on some pages; 180 x 110 mm, executed on very fine laid paper with watermark, elegant tailpiece with floral motif on the last leaf. Dedication to Prince Federico Gonzaga (Mantua, June 25, 1441 – Mantua, July 14, 1484), third Marquis of Mantua. Beautiful 18th-century binding with borders on the boards and cornerpieces with plant motifs, medallion on the boards stamped in gold, gilt edges and dentils; elegant floral paper endpapers on a bronze/gold background. Paolo Attavanti, son of Antonio di Giusto, was born in Florence between 1439 and 1445. A Florentine patrician, he was educated by the Servites, whose order he joined, earning a degree in Iure utroque in Pisa. He spent some time in Rome, at the hospital of Santo Spirito; after returning to his order, he attended the General Chapter of Florence (1470) and was enrolled in the College of Theologians of Siena in 1472. At the General Chapter of Vetralla (1485), he became assistant to the general; he was then sent to preach in various cities of northern Italy (Vercelli, Novara, Turin) and in Savoy. He also participated in the General Chapter of Bologna (1488); in 1496, he was enrolled in the College of Theologians of Florence, where, as provincial of his order for Tuscany, he died in May 1499. In Florence, he frequented the group of humanists around Lorenzo the Magnificent. He had a reputation as a capable preacher; he wrote numerous works: Lives of saints, the Historia Mantuana, a Quadra-gesimale de reditu pectoris ad Deum (Milan 1479) and one de tempore (s. l., s. a.) and other sermons. He also wrote a Breviarium totius iuris canonici (Milan 1478), a dialogue De origine ordinis servorum Beatae Mariae (ed. Canali, Parma 1727), biblical commentaries, etc. THERE. also known as “Pauli Florentini Divi Ordinis S. Spiritus”, as cited in the proem of the manuscript, when he wrote the Historia Mantuae, in 1482, he was a guest of the Gonzaga family and was trying to ingratiate himself with his host Federigo. The incipit lists by topic order and then by alphabet. The text contains historical and poetic quotations from Virgil, Livy, Flavius ​​Biondo, Dante, Leonardo, Antoninus Bishop, Tifernus, Pope Innocent III, Pope Leo III, Leo IX, Emperor Henry VI, and others, as well as references from the Life of Longinus. The author, in addition to praising the Gonzaga family, to whom the work is dedicated, emphasizing their military virtue and role as a refuge in difficult times, expresses humility and awareness in the arduous task of adding something new to the history of a city that boasts so many illustrious figures. He introduces the praises woven for heroes and brilliant minds, following Virgil's statement that various lineages and tribes contributed to the building of Mantua: "Mantua is rich in Anthenrosioates, but not of a single lineage for all." Mantua was chosen to preserve the blood of Christ as a testimony to his dignity. Nowhere is there greater divine charity than here, where the blood is kept in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Andrew. An excellent copy, with a small tear in the lower margin of the unnumbered list leaf (8), slight cracks in the leather on the lower covers, and a loss in the lower cap.