The Catholic Church's Council of Trent (1545 – 1563) launched the Counter-Reformation. The canons and decrees it produced were first published in 1564 in Rome. This is a rare copy of the first octavo edition, which was produced in the same year in Venice by the Aldine Press. The volume is one of a donation of six 16th- and 17th-century items from famous Continental presses. It comes from the library of the late art historian Michael Bury.