Probably written at the court of Federico da Montefeltro in Urbino around 1480, the Treatise on Architecture by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1502), the famous painter, sculptor and architect from Siena, is one of the milestones of the architectural theory of the Italian Renaissance.
Following its two main topics – civil and military architecture – this work is a collection of the type of notes and drawings that so appealed to Leonardo da Vinci. It was no coincidence that this precious manuscript, also known as Codex Ashburnham 361, belonged to Leonardo, and it was most likely given to him by the author himself around 1490 while in Milan.
To date, this is the only book known securely to have been a part of Leonardo’s personal library, and around 1506 Leonardo annotated and embellished it with his own notes and drawings.
We have 2 facsimiles of the manuscript "Treatise on Architecture":
- Il codice Ashburnham 361 della Biblioteca medicea Laurenziana di Firenze: trattato di architettura di Francesco di Giorgio Martini facsimile edition published by Giunti Editore, 1979
- Trattato di architettura di Francesco di Giorgio Martini facsimile edition published by Giunti Editore, 1994
