Ambrogio Brambilla (active 1579-1599) Castello S. Angelo con la girandola (The Fireworks over the Castle of St. Angelo). 1579. Etching. 378 x 495. Fine proof addressed to Cl. Buchetti, trimmed to the square line and slightly inside of it at the lower left edge (with minor damage to the subject and integrity of the tablet), pasted on laid paper. A few short tears at the right edge and head. Small tears in the upper right corner. Oxidation at the edges of the folio. Ref: Christian Huelsen, Das Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae des Antonio Lafreri, 1921, n° 127 ; Suzanne Boorsch, Fireworks! Four Centuries of Pyrotechnics in Prints and Drawings, exhibition catalogue, New York, Metropolitan Museum, 2000. Since 1471, a great fireworks display called "Girandola" was held at the Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, the papal fortress and former mausoleum of the Emperor Hadrian. These festivities were held each time a new pope was elected as well as at Easter and on June 28, the eve of the feast of St. Peter and St. Paul.