ENGLISH VERSION Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Trattati di architettura ingegneria e arte militare. Il Polifilo, 1967

Translation by Francesco Mazzaferro
CLICK HERE FOR ITALIAN VERSION

Francesco di Giorgio Martini

Trattati di architettura ingegneria e arte militare [Treatises on architecture, engineering and military art] 

Edited by Corrado Maltese
Transcription by Livia Maltese Degrassi

Il Polifilo editore, 1967

[On Francesco di Giorgio Martini see in this blog also: Francesco di Giorgio Martini, The translation of Vitruvius’ De Architectura, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, 2002, Part One and Part Two; Francesco di Giorgio Martini. Magliabechi’s Vitruvius, Gonnelli editore, 1985]

[1] Text of the strip :

"Besides being one of the greatest artists of the Italian fifteenth century, Francesco di Giorgio is a typical "ingegnario”, a representative of a culture in which technological and artistic interests are intertwined constantly, in a highly productive way. In this sense, his culture anticipates and prepares that of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo’s obligation to him is proved both by the numerous sources of mechanical devices, as well as by the annotations attached to the Laurentian Ashburnham codex of one of two Martini’s treaties, and finally by the documented meetings they had in 1490, when the two artists dealt together with the Cathedral of Pavia.

In Renaissance studies the theoretical work of Francesco di Giorgio Martini has always been a necessary milestone. However, historical research, in an attempt to return these texts in full, always met with the tangle of problems produced by the presence of different codes and discordant and continuous interference between the philological-literary issues and those related to the illustrations. After 1841, when Carlo Promis had published Francesco di Giorgio’s text of a treaty uniquely derived by the Magliabechiano codex, nobody had ever attempted to produce an integral or a critical edition of Martini’s work. In the meantime, the findings profoundly altering the context of already acquired knowledge had accumulated. This required a patient study of comparison between (and transcription of) the basic codes, a careful interpretation of the texts and, finally, the complete reproduction of illustrated pages in at least two of those codes, i.e. the Saluzziano and Magliabechiano ones, which together constitute a unique document of visual culture and methods of architectural representation in the early Renaissance.

These problems were tackled boldly by Corrado Maltese, known among other things for his studies of Renaissance art (in particular on Leonardo as an architect) and Livia Maltese Degrassi. The result is a set of texts which can be considered as truly unpublished, both for their literary and graphic content. The reader will find not only the precepts of civil architecture, not only examples and suggestions of the most impressive military architecture of the time, but information on technology, mechanics, hydraulics, mineralogy, practical geometry and more. All of this is written in a language that is often fraught with dialect components, and curiously mixed with the imaginative language of an humanist; still, this remains a fascinating language, because you will feel the immediate reflex of operational practice of his time and of live activity; in short, the language of one among the most prestigious illiterate "ingegnario" types in the Renaissance."

[2] Maltese’s efforts mark a milestone in the study of texts by Martini: these texts consist first of pieces that can be defined as an original production by the Sienese architect and second of other writings testifying Martini’s prolonged and assiduous translation work of Vitruvius’ De architectura. It has been Maltese’s merit to propose for this production a chronological arrangement that, even today, should be considered as essentially valid, in spite of subsequent discoveries and thus the availability of new manuscripts. It can be said that the whole work of Francesco di Giorgio revolves around three fundamental writings: the Treaty I, which Maltese publishes in the first volume of this work; the Treaty II, presented in the second volume; and finally the translation of De Architectura. In chronological order (from Maltese’s assumption) :

THE TREATY I (ARCHITECTURE, ENGENEERING AND MILITARY ART)

It is testified by two manuscripts (certainly copies) known as Torinese Saluzziano 148 (preserved at the Royal Library of Turin) and Laurentian Ashburnhamiano 361 (at the Laurentian composition of the Treaty between 1478 and 1481, while copies were made between 1482 and 1486.

TRANSLATION OF DE ARCHITECTURA

Already in the Treaty I, Francesco di Giorgio proposes a few passages translated by De Architectura  of Vitruvius. The actual (though incomplete) translation is proved in the second part of the Code Magliabechiano II.I.141 (kept at the National Central Library in Firenze). Maltese places the translation between 1481 and 1489, however, certainly among the drafting of the Treaty I and the Treaty II. The translation is undoubtedly an autograph. Maltese, however, believes that, in substance, it has not been the work of Francesco di Giorgio, but rather the result of a dictation made to the Sienese humanist by an (anonymous) friend. The first critical edition of Martini’s translation was proposed by Gustina Scaglia (Francesco di Giorgio Martini,  The "Vitruvius Magliabechiano") in 1985.

TREATY II (CIVIL AND MILITARY ARCHITECTURE)

Even the so-called Treaty II is witnessed by two manuscript copies, specifically the Senese Codex S.IV.4 (Biblioteca Comunale di Siena) and again the Magliabechiano Codex II.I.141 (more precisely, the first part of the manuscript). The drafting of the Treaty II should fall in the period between 1487 and 1489. The two copies which survived would have been executed between 1489 and 1492.This is the chronological arrangement proposed by the Maltese for Martini’s writings. As mentioned above, even today, the arguments mentioned are essentially the most credible and, in any case, those most shared. An exception is the dating of the Treaty II, whose timing has now been moved to later years. A fundamental fact must be pointed out, however: the new texts by Martini which have led to a partial review of the arguments of Maltese, were discovered only after the publication of this work. The newly discovered texts by Martini are the Opera di architectura (Work of architecture) (Spencer codex 129) and the so-called Zichy Codex, preserved in Budapest. For an update on the above, see the notes relating to Francesco di Giorgio Martini, La traduzione del De Architectura di Vitruvio (The translation of Vitruvius' De Architectura) §01444§, curated by Marco Biffi and published in 2002 by the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa , as well as Massimo Mussini, Francesco di Giorgio e Vitruvio. Le traduzioni del «De architectura» nei codici Zichy, Spencer 129 e Magliabechiano II.I.141 (Francesco di Giorgio and Vitruvius. Translations of "De architectura " in the codes Zichy, Spencer 129 and Magliabechiano II.I.141 (Florence , Leo S. Olschki, 2003). C §01659§ 

[3 ] The contents of the two volumes : 

Volume I 

ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, AND MILITARY ART 

From the Codices Saluzziano Torinese 148 and Laurentian Ashburnhamiano 361 

 Fortresses 

 Bridges of forts and other defenses 

 Town 

 Works of hydraulic 

 Temples 

 Theatres 

 Columns 

 Ancient and modern architecture and construction practices 

 Geometry and ways of measuring distances, heights and depths 

 Levers of wheels and mills 

 Sources and ways of raising and conducting water 

 Metals 

 Ways to uplift and bring water, waterway locks, winches, cranes and derricks 

 Military art and war machines, ancient and modern 

 Convents 

 Devices and other practical tips 

 Bells, bell towers , gardens 

 From the "Book of the fires " by Marco Greco 

Codex Torinese Saluzziano 148 

 catalogue of illustrated pages - Tables 1-186 

VOLUME II 

CIVIL AND MILITARY ARCHITECTURE 

From Codices Senese S.IV.4 and Magliabechiano II.I.141 

 Preamble

 First Treaty. Principles and necessary and common rules

 Second Treaty. Parts of houses and palaces. Ways to find water

 Third Treaty. Castles and town

 Fourth Treaty. The temples

 Fifth Treaty. Forms of castles and fortresses

 Sixth Treaty. Parts and shapes of ports

 Seventh Treaty. Machines to lift weights and draw water. Pistons and mills.

 Conclusion

SYSTEM OF VARIATIONS

Code Magliabechiano II.I.141

Catalogue pages figurative - Tables 187-331

[4] At the margins, a problem of attributive character should be mentioned. According to one school of thought, which is basically headed by Alessandro Parronchi, the Treaty II (in both versions known to us) would actually not be a work by Francesco di Giorgio. Parronchi (see for all Baldassarre Peruzzi, Trattato di architettura militare – Treaty of military architecture, Florence, Gonnelli, 1982) took the cue from the examination of code E.2.I.28, preserved at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. This code has similarities both with Senese S.IV.4 as well with Magliabechiano II.I.141, but with variations that allow you to date it to 1500. Parrocchi then argued that this code is the work of Baldassare Peruzzi and that the two manuscripts bearing witness of the Treaty II are in fact revisions made in the sixteenth century by the circle of Cosimo Bartoli (see p. XXVI - XXVII). The hypothesis by Parronchi was however rejected by critics.