 The encyclopedia is over 18,000 pages in length and profusely illustrated with thousands of illustrations of which 700 are in the text, 1800 are out of the text, and there are 320 color plates.The first print run of 10,000 copies was followed by a reprint of 5,000 additional copies.Originally published in Rome by Casa Editrice Le Maschere, reprints were published by UNEDI.