Fine Technology Dialogue Across the Eastern Mediterranean in Giovanni Fontana's Bellicorum Instrumentorum Liber
The early fifteenth-century Venetian physician Giovanni di Michele, known as ʻFontanaʼ, likely earned his name due to a fountain he invented, described in the Bellicorum instrumentorum liber, cum figuris et fictitys litoris conscriptus, an illustrated treatise on fine technology written around 14...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Fondazione Università Ca’ Foscari
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Venezia Arti |
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| Online Access: | http://doi.org/10.30687/VA/2385-2720/2024/01/003 |
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| Summary: | The early fifteenth-century Venetian physician Giovanni di Michele, known as ʻFontanaʼ, likely earned his name due to a fountain he invented, described in the Bellicorum instrumentorum liber, cum figuris et fictitys litoris conscriptus, an illustrated treatise on fine technology written around 1418. This essay explores Fontana’s connection with Arab culture, focusing on the relationship between his treatise and Islamic works on hydraulic fine technology, particularly automatic fountains, which were popular in both Islamic and Renaissance courts. The paper also highlights the influence of Fontana’s work on Agostino Ramelli’s sixteenth-century Le diverse et artificiose machine, a notable book on fine technology that includes descriptions of splendid automatic fountains.
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| ISSN: | 2385-2720 |