The volume has a calligraphic frontispiece, a sign that it is a fine copy by Baitelli or his trusted secretary. The codex opens with an intriguing "Rotolo delli Sediziosi" which lists in alphabetical order the names of the seditious divided by family, from Aiardi to Zeno. A total of 72 families where potential rebels nest. This is followed by a "Passio Rusticalis Sinagoge" in verse of 6 pp. On pg.11 begins the "Historia del Nato della Plebe di Brescia per l'Ingresso del maggior Conseglio" which anticipates the various sections of the codex, all relating to historical events, decisions of the College, resolutions, Orations, Memorials etc. The final leaf, c.167r, bears a date of subscription which can be interpreted as the terminus ante quem : Venice, the last of March 1645.


Lodovico Baitelli was born in Brescia to the noble Costanzo and lived in the fourth and fifth decades of the 17th century. He studied at the University of Padua and earned a doctorate in law. After returning to Brescia, he played a prominent role in local political life and was sent to Venice several times to present the interests and requests of his city. And in Venice his ability as a speaker and his solid legal knowledge earned him, in addition to the title of count and knight, the appointment as consultant in iure. Consultations, considerations, writings, opinions, summaries and historical-legal summaries, written, for the most part, in collaboration with Scipione Feramosca, testify to this activity of B., during which he had to deal with the most varied topics.