Cesare Cesariano’s Vitruvius

The importance of Cesare Cesariano in 16th-century architectural culture is linked almost exclusively to his activity as a scholar and architectural theorist. He is known as the author of the first printed translation of Vitruvius's De architectura . Valentina Burgassi reconstructs Cesariano’s technical interpretation of Vitruvius through a first systematic comparison of Book IX (Chapters 7-9) and Book X in the autograph Madrid manuscript 9/2790 and the 1521 vernacular edition. Focusing on gnomonics and time measurement, machines, hydraulics, military engineering, and construction practice, it reveals how the text and accompanying images transformed ancient knowledge for a Renaissance readership. The study shows how Cesariano bridged humanist scholarship and workshop expertise, while tracing the editorial changes that reshaped his project in print and its wider European reception. Reassesses Cesariano as a key mediator between humanist scholarship, construction practice, and the emerging culture of the Renaissance architect-engineer Reconstructs Cesariano’s technical project using text and images