The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection
Francesco di Giorgio Martini
Trattato di Architettura Civile e Militare [Treatise on Civil and Military Architecture]
Siena, 1530s
Francesco di Giorgio Martini's second Treatise on Civil and Military Architecture considers many aspects of ideal architecture and city planning, and illustrates the growing interest in military matters. As a witness to the French invasion of Naples in 1494, Francesco was able to evaluate the precise ways in which existing fortifications had become obsolete. His text, illustrated with numerous plans for fortified towns, takes into account social and political issues as well as defense considerations.
At least four scribes are thought to have collaborated on the transcription of this copy from a manuscript in the Monte Oliveto Maggiore monastery in Siena; none of the scribes has been identified. Many of the drawings have been attributed to the sixteenth-century Sienese artist Domenico Beccafumi, the brother-in-law of Pietro Cataneo; others are thought to have been the work of numerous other artists in Siena.
Trattato di Architettura Civile e Militare [Treatise on Civil and Military Architecture]
Siena, 1530s
Francesco di Giorgio Martini's second Treatise on Civil and Military Architecture considers many aspects of ideal architecture and city planning, and illustrates the growing interest in military matters. As a witness to the French invasion of Naples in 1494, Francesco was able to evaluate the precise ways in which existing fortifications had become obsolete. His text, illustrated with numerous plans for fortified towns, takes into account social and political issues as well as defense considerations.
At least four scribes are thought to have collaborated on the transcription of this copy from a manuscript in the Monte Oliveto Maggiore monastery in Siena; none of the scribes has been identified. Many of the drawings have been attributed to the sixteenth-century Sienese artist Domenico Beccafumi, the brother-in-law of Pietro Cataneo; others are thought to have been the work of numerous other artists in Siena.
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