This 17th-century armorial - measuring 28x45 cm in its original format - depicts over 5,000 coats of arms (arranged twelve to a page) belonging primarily to families from the territory of the former Duchy of Milan at the height of its expansion; the arms are set within elegant, printed Baroque frames. Generally, the coats of arms are colored and finished to varying degrees, although some are merely line drawings with colors indicated by abbreviations.

The manuscript likely originated in the private library of a Milanese patrician family. Despite its often summary style - indicating a work that never received its "final polish" - it constitutes a vitally important source (hitherto unpublished and unknown to heraldists) for the study of coats of arms belonging to Lombard noble houses, including lesser ones. It clearly draws not only upon the oldest and best-known Lombard armorials but also, in all likelihood, upon sources unknown to us today - perhaps monumental ones - presenting previously unseen variants of armorial bearings that were already known but appear here in different versions. A case in point is the coat of arms borne by Leonardo da Vinci (regarding which, see the article published by the curator in Medioevo (June 2026) at https://www.orsinidemarzo.com/en/articles.php).

As next year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Edizioni Orsini De Marzo - following the precedent set with the publication of the Stemmario Trivulziano back in 2000 - this edition (the eighth volume in the European Edition of the Sources for Heraldry and Genealogy conserved in Private Collections series, launched in 2005) will include a special Tabula gratulatoria listing the names of suscribers who do not wish to remain anonymous.

Format: 21 x 30 cm; 600 pages, fully in color.

Special pre-order offer valid until December 31, 2026: EUR 195.00 instead of EUR 300.00 (35% discount), plus shipping costs.

Delivery by April 30, 2027.