ABSTRACT
In 1563, one of the most popular books of secrets published in Western Europe was issued in Spanish in three different editions. Alessio Piemontese’s (Girolamo Ruscelli’s) Secreti was published in Barcelona, Alcalá de Henares and Zaragoza; it was this last translation, based on the original Italian version, that became the standard in Iberia, being reprinted again in 1570 and six more times during the seventeenth century. 1 Alessio’s compilation was rich in medical, alchemical and metallurgical recipes as well as in instructions for cooking and making preserves. In addition, procedures to clean and perfume the body – as well as clothes – constituted a significant presence in the text, together with an entire section devoted to cosmetics. 2
