HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI: AN ARCHITECTURAL VISION FROM THE FIRST RENAISSANCE, VOLUME I

About the Book

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BOOK IS ONLY THE 1ST HALF OF ONE SINGLE BOOK. IN ORDER TO HAVE A COMPLETE TEXT, READERS ARE SUGGESTED TO CONSIDER ALSO VOLUME II, AVAILABLE HERE http://bookstore.xlibris.com/Products/SKU-0114664017/default.aspx

AFTER YEARS OF FIELD RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, THIS IS A SECOND BOOK OF WHAT SEEMS TO BECOME A SERIES OF PUBLICATIONS. THE INTENT IS TO RECONSTRUCT THE ARCHITECTURE AND LANDSCAPES DESCRIBED IN THE HYPNEROTOMACHIA POLIPHILI WITH THE AID OF DIGITAL MEDIUMS. THIS ENIGMATIC INCUNABULUM WITH ITS 172 WOODCUTS, FIRST PUBLISHED IN VENICE IN 1499 BY THE VENETIAN PRESS OF ALDUS MANUTIUS, HAS FASCINATED HISTORIANS, PATRONS, AND ESPECIALLY ARCHITECTS EVER SINCE ITS ANONYMOUS PUBLICATION.

A RENEWED INTEREST FOR THIS LEGENDARY RENAISSANCE TEXT HAS EMERGED WITH MODERN TRANSLATIONS READILY NOW AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN, ENGLISH, AND SPANISH, NOT TO MENTION ITS USE AS THE CENTRAL THEME FOR CALDWELL AND THOMASON’S BESTSELLER, THE RULE OF FOUR, NOW TO BECOME A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE. THE STORY BEGINS WITH POLIPHILUS, WHO FALLS ASLEEP AND DREAMS THAT HE IS SEARCHING FOR HIS LOST LOVE, POLIA. WHILE UNDER HER BELOVED SPELL, HE ENGAGES ON AN EROTIC PILGRAMAGE THROUGH ANTIQUITY, DISCOVERING INCREDIBLE ARCHITECTURE, GARDENS AND LANDSCAPES ALL ENVISIONED AND DESCRIBED IN MINUTE, TECHNICAL, AND ARTISTIC DESCRIPTION. PART TREATISE, PART NARRATIVE, THIS BOOK INTRODUCES A VAST ARRAY OF ARCHITECTURAL EXAMPLES AND LANDSCAPE DESIGNS WHICH WERE TOO VISIONARY FOR ITS TIME.

WITH MORE THAN 160 ORIGINAL ARTWORK ILLUSTRATIONS, THIS WORK IS PRESENTED HERE AS AN ATTEMPT TO SHARE A NEW DECIPHERING OF THIS LABYRINTHINE TEXT AFTER YEARS OF OBSCURITY, BRINGING TO LIFE AND GIVING SIGNIFICANCE TO ITS FANTASTIC ARCHITECTURE AND ALLEGORICAL VISIONS. FOR MORE INFORMATION: LOG ON TO WWW.HP1499.COM

About the Author

Esteban Cruz has a degree in architecture from the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, with post-graduate studies at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura Venezia (IUAV) in Venice, Italy. Since 1996, he has worked on projects in the fields of architecture, urban planning, and conservation, and is currently project manager for in Milan engaged primarily in international practice. His interest in history and computers started in 1998 as design consultant for the development of a prototype virtual museum (N.u.M.E.), for the historic city center of Bologna, Italy. Coordinated by the University of Bologna, this project involved historic re-constructions of important monumental areas of the city from the XII to the XVII centuries. It was displayed for the first time at the international conference of IT and computer innovation, SIGGRAPH 1999 in Los Angeles. This and other contributions to the fields of Historic and Cultural Heritage, has lead Esteban to be an active member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). His research activities dealing with the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili began in 1995 while still as an undergraduate. Since then, he is continuously active in developing graphical reconstructions that “illustrate” the architecture and landscapes encrypted in this Renaissance text. Esteban is an associate member of both the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI). He is married and lives between San Francisco, California and Milan, Italy.