02159 Tipografia delle scienze matematiche e fisiche Roma 1868 Large 8vo. 16 pp., 1 large folding lithograped plate with maps, plans, sections and elevations (48 x 64 cm). (Extract from Il Bunaorotti, Quaderno VII, Luglio 1868). Orig. titling wrappers. A little foxing, some minor brown-stains and browning to plate, pp. 2-14 and plate loose in the titling wrapper. * The Mamertine Prison (also referred to as the Tullianum) was located in the Forum Romanum in Ancient Rome. The name "Mamertine" comes from a medieval misconception that it was the place where St. Peter was imprisoned before his execution. An additional legend states that Saints Martinian and Processus were said to have been his warders, and were converted and baptized by Peter before being martyred themselves. The Prison was constructed in around the time of the First Sack of Rome by Gauls, about 386 BC. It was originally created as a cistern. Typically, only higher profile prisoners were kept in the prison, usually foreign commanders who were defeated and became the centrepiece in a Roman triumphant procession. They usually remained in the Tullianum until they were taken out and executed, or until they happened to die of natural causes; Known prisoners are Vercingetorix the Gaul and Simon bar Jiora, who defended Jerusalem against Titus. But the Tullianum was not a holding prison, as Roman law did not recognize imprisonment as punishment. It is not known when the Tullianum went out of service permanently. The site is currently occupied by two superimposed churches: S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami (upper) and S. Pietro in Carcere (lower). The alter in the lower chapel is upside down because according to the tradition Saint Peter was crucified upside down. * The folding plate is a revised version of a plate that first appeared in F. Gori and I. H. Parker, Ichonographia Teterrimi Carceris Mamertini, Roma 1853. * Very scarce. $30.00AUD
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