This satire by Benedetto Menzini (1646-1704), a Florentine poet, is so
vitriolic and anti-clerical that it was banned by the Catholic
Church in 1720. This edition from 1718 purports to have been
printed in Amsterdam, which is possible, since that city was
known for its liberal press. However, the style of the
printing does not seem to be from Amsterdam, so another
possibility is that a Florentine printer disguised the book's
origins with a false imprint. In either case, word got out,
and some people undoubtedly had a good laugh, while other
just as undoubtedly did not!
A project of The Digital Scriptorium, Special
Collections Library, Duke University. December
1996
http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/mazzoni/exhibit/
