Vitruvius in the Library of the University of Seville

Описание: Within the historical collection of the University of Seville Library (BUS), architecture and engineering have a strong presence. Palladio, Serlio, Vignola, Alberti are some of the names represented in our historical collection with early edition copies. And, of course, Vitruvius Pollio.

The extraordinary importance that Vitruvius achieved from the 15th century onwards is demonstrated by the numerous re-editions of his work. The Ten Books on Architecture have been one of the fundamental milestones of Western architectural theory, recurrently referred to by Renaissance and Enlightenment architects.

The University of Seville Library preserves about a dozen treatises by Vitruvius from the 16th century to the early 19th century. In the documentary Vitruvius in the Library of the University of Seville, some of the most notable ones can be seen, starting with the Cesariano edition, the first translation of the work, printed in Italy by Gotardo da Ponte in 1521. Also featured is the first German translation, published in 1543 in Strasbourg by Georges Messerschmidt, and the first Spanish translation, made by Miguel de Urrea in 1582, an edition printed in Alcalá de Henares by Juan Gracián.

Finally, two Madrid editions from the 18th century are shown: Castañeda's translation of Claude Perrault's “Compendium of the Ten Books of Architecture by Vitruvius” and the beautiful 1787 edition by Ortiz y Sanz.

We want to express our gratitude to Professor Manuel Gámez Casado from the Department of Art History at the University of Seville for his collaboration and participation in the documentary.