Vitruvius

A 1684 depiction of Vitruvius (right) presenting De Architectura

to Augustus

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c. 8070 BC, died after c. 15 BC), commonly known as Vitruvius, was a
Roman author, architect, civil engineer and military engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multivolume work entitled De Architectura.
By his own description[1] Vitruvius served as an artilleryman, the third class of arms in the military oces. He
probably served as a senior ocer of artillery in charge
of doctores ballistarum (artillery experts) and libratores
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, an illustration of the huwho actually operated the machines.[2]

man body inscribed in the circle and the square derived from
a passage about geometry and human proportions in Vitruvius
writings

Life and career

cept for some historical gures, that, as the

writer Vitruvius and Vacca, Formiae belonged
to or who are assigned to it, this [name] is not
[natively] found in Numidia. And only in a epigraph of this region [Dr. Giglioli] has recovered the memory of a member of the [family]
Mamurra Vitruvius. and deduces he is of the
same family as [the] well [known writer from]
Formia.[4]

Little is known about Vitruvius life. Most inferences

about him are extracted from his only surviving work De
Architectura. His rst name Marcus and his cognomen
Pollio are uncertain. He was possibly a praefectus fabrum during military service or praefect architectus armamentarius of the apparitor status group. Cetius Faventinus speaks of Vitruvius Polio aliique auctores in his
epitome; it is possible that the cognomen derives from
this mention by Cetius, meaning Vitruvius, Polio, and
others further confusing the cognomen, an inscription
in Verona names Lucius Vitruvius Cordo and an inscription from Thilbilis, North Africa (near Guelma[3] ) names
Marcus Vitruvius Mamurra. From this inscription the archaeologist Dr. G. Q. Giglioli nearly concludes that Vitruvius and Mamurra are from the same family; his argument is presented by Ettore Pais:

The Roman military ocer Mamurra also served as praefectus fabrum in Hispania, Gaul and Pontus under Julius
Caesar. Paul Thielscher moved the conclusions of Dr.
Giglioli further and concluded that these two men are
the same.[5] There are inconsistencies with this conclusion, such as there is no mention of Caesars invasions
of Britain in De Architectura, nor of other things with
which Mamurra was associated, such as equestrian military practices, and a love for nepotism and personal
wealth. Additionally, Caesar received a letter that can be

That [name is] very common in Formiae

and regions adjacent, as well Dr. Giglioli observes, it is rare elsewhere. Indeed so far, ex1

LIFE AND CAREER

inferred to have news of Mamurras death, whereas Vitru- of Larignum in 56 BC.[10] Of the battlegrounds of the
vius dedicated De Architectura to the emperor Augustus. Gallic War there are references to: the siege and masHe appears to be known to Pliny the Elder through his sacre of the 40,000 residents at Avaricum in 52 BC;
description of constructing mosaics in the Naturalis His- Vercingetorix commented that the Romans did not contoria.[6] Although he is not actually named in that passage, quer by valor nor in the eld, but by a kind of art and
with which they [Gauls] themselves were
he does appear in Naturalis Historia 1 (the table of con- skill in assault, [11]
unacquainted.
The broken siege at Gergovia in 52
tents). Frontinus refers to Vitruvius the architect in his
BC.
The
circumvallation
and Battle of Alesia in 52 BC;
late 1st-century work De aquaeductu.
the women and children of the encircled city were evicted
Likely born a free Roman citizen, by his own account, to conserve food, where they starved to death between the
Vitruvius served the Roman army under Caesar with opposing walls of the defenders and besiegers. And the
the otherwise poorly identied Marcus Aurelius, Publius siege of Uxellodunum in 51 BC. These are all sieges of
Minidius, and Gnaeus Cornelius. These names vary de- large Gallic oppida. Of the sites involved in Caesars civil
pending on the edition of De architectura. Publius Mini- war, we nd the Siege of Massilia in 49 BC,[12] the Battle
dius is also written as Publius Numidicus and Publius of Dyrrhachium of 48 BC (modern Albania), the Battle
Numidius, speculated as the same Publius Numisius in- of Pharsalus in 48 BC (Hellas Greece), the Battle of
scribed on the Roman Theatre at Heraclea.[7]
Zela of 47 BC (modern Turkey) and the Battle of Thap[13]
As an army engineer he specialized in the construction sus in 46 BC in Caesars African campaign. A legion
of ballista and scorpio artillery war machines for sieges. that ts the same sequence of locations is the Legio VI
It is speculated that Vitruvius served with Caesars chief Ferrata, of which ballista would be an auxiliary unit.
engineer Lucius Cornelius Balbus.[8]
Mainly known for his writings, Vitruvius was himself an
The locations where he served can be reconstructed architect. In Roman times architecture was a broader
from, for example, descriptions of the building meth- subject than at present including the modern elds
ods of various foreign tribes. Although he describes of architecture, construction management, construction
places throughout De Architectura, he does not say he engineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering,
was present. His service likely included north Africa, materials engineering, mechanical engineering, military
engineering and urban planning;[14] architectural engiHispania, Gaul (including Aquitaine) and Pontus.
neers consider him the rst of their discipline, a speTo place the role of Vitruvius the military engineer in cialization previously known as technical architecture.
context, a description of The Praefect of the camp or Frontinus mentions him in connection with the stanarmy engineer is quoted here as given by Flavius Vegetius dard sizes of pipes.[15] He is often credited as father of
Renatus in The Military Institutions of the Romans:
architectural acoustics for describing the technique of
echeas placement in theaters.[16] The only building, howThe Praefect of the camp, though inferior
ever, that we know Vitruvius to have worked on is one
in rank to the [Praefect], had a post of no small
he tells us about,[17] a basilica completed in 19 BC.[18] It
importance. The position of the camp, the diwas built at Fanum Fortunae, now the modern town of
rection of the entrenchments, the inspection of
Fano. The Basilica di Fano (to give the building its Italthe tents or huts of the soldiers and the bagian name) has disappeared so completely that its very site
gage were comprehended in his province. His
is a matter of conjecture, although various attempts have
authority extended over the sick, and the physibeen made to visualise it.[19] The early Christian praccians who had the care of them; and he regtice of converting Roman basilicae (public buildings) into
ulated the expenses relative thereto. He had
cathedrals implies the basilica may be incorporated into
the charge of providing carriages, bathhouses
the cathedral located in Fano.
and the proper tools for sawing and cutting
In later years the emperor Augustus, through his sister
wood, digging trenches, raising parapets, sinkOctavia Minor, sponsored Vitruvius, entitling him with
ing wells and bringing water into the camp. He
what may have been a pension to guarantee nancial
likewise had the care of furnishing the troops
independence.[1] Whether De architectura was written by
with wood and straw, as well as the rams,
one author or is a compilation completed by subsequent
onagri, balistae and all the other engines of war
librarians and copyists, remains an open question. The
under his direction. This post was always condate of his death is unknown, which suggests that he had
ferred on an ocer of great skill, experience
enjoyed only little popularity during his lifetime.
and long service, and who consequently was
Gerolamo Cardano, in his 16th book De subtilitate rerum,
capable of instructing others in those branches
ranks Vitruvius as one of the 12 persons whom he supof the profession in which he had distinguished
poses to have excelled all men in the force of genius and
himself.[9]
invention; and would not have scrupled to have given him
At various locations described by Vitruvius, battles and the rst place, if it could be imagined[20]that he had delivsieges occurred. He is the only source for the siege ered nothing but his own discoveries.

Vitruvius De Architectura libri

decem (De Architectura)

modern architects. Roman architects practised a wide variety of disciplines; in modern terms, they could be described as being engineers, architects, landscape architects, artists, and craftsmen combined. Etymologically
the word architect derives from Greek words meaning
'master' and 'builder'. The rst of the Ten Books deals
with many subjects which now come within the scope of
landscape architecture.

3 Roman technology

Greek house plan after Vitruvius

Vitruvius is the author of De architectura, known today as The Ten Books on Architecture,[21] a treatise written in Latin on architecture, dedicated to the emperor
Augustus. In the preface of Book I, Vitruvius dedicates his writings so as to give personal knowledge of
the quality of buildings to the emperor. Likely Vitruvius is referring to Marcus Agrippa's campaign of public repairs and improvements. This work is the only
surviving major book on architecture from classical antiquity. According to Petri Liukkonen, this text inuenced deeply from the Early Renaissance onwards artists,
thinkers, and architects, among them Leon Battista Alberti (14041472), Leonardo da Vinci (14521519), and
Michelangelo (14751564).[13] The next major book on
architecture, Albertis reformulation of Ten Books, was
not written until 1452.
Vitruvius is famous for asserting in his book De architectura that a structure must exhibit the three qualities
of rmitas, utilitas, venustas that is, it must be solid,
useful, beautiful. These are sometimes termed the Vitruvian virtues or the Vitruvian Triad. According to
Vitruvius, architecture is an imitation of nature. As birds
and bees built their nests, so humans constructed housing from natural materials, that gave them shelter against
the elements. When perfecting this art of building, the
Greeks invented the architectural orders: Doric, Ionic
and Corinthian. It gave them a sense of proportion, culminating in understanding the proportions of the greatest work of art: the human body. This led Vitruvius in
dening his Vitruvian Man, as drawn later by Leonardo
da Vinci: the human body inscribed in the circle and the
square (the fundamental geometric patterns of the cosmic
order).
Vitruvius is sometimes loosely referred to as the rst architect, but it is more accurate to describe him as the
rst Roman architect to have written surviving records
of his eld. He himself cites older but less complete
works. He was less an original thinker or creative intellect
than a codier of existing architectural practice. It should
also be noted that Vitruvius had a much wider scope than

Drainage wheel from Rio Tinto mines

Books VIII, IX and X form the basis of much of what we

know about Roman technology, now augmented by archaeological studies of extant remains, such as the water
mills at Barbegal in France. The other major source of
information is the Naturalis Historia compiled by Pliny
the Elder much later in c. 75 AD.

3.1 Machines
The work is important for its descriptions of the many different machines used for engineering structures such as
hoists, cranes and pulleys, as well as war machines such as
catapults and ballistae, and siege engines. As a practising
engineer, Vitruvius must be speaking from personal experience rather than simply describing the works of others. He also describes the construction of sundials and
water clocks, and the use of an aeolipile (the rst steam
engine) as an experiment to demonstrate the nature of atmospheric air movements (wind).

3.2

Aqueducts

His description of aqueduct construction includes the way

they are surveyed, and the careful choice of materials
needed, although Frontinus (a general who was appointed
in the late 1st century AD to administer the many aqueducts of Rome), writing a century later, gives much more
detail of the practical problems involved in their construction and maintenance. Surely Vitruvius book would have
been of great assistance in this. Vitruvius was writing in
the 1st century BC when many of the nest Roman aqueducts were built, and survive to this day, such as those at
Segovia and the Pont du Gard. The use of the inverted
siphon is described in detail, together with the problems
of high pressures developed in the pipe at the base of the
siphon, a practical problem with which he seems to be
acquainted.

ROMAN TECHNOLOGY

It was a device widely used for raising water to irrigate

elds and drain mines. Other lifting machines he mentions include the endless chain of buckets and the reverse
overshot water-wheel. Remains of the water wheels used
for lifting water were discovered when old mines were reopened at Rio Tinto in Spain, Rosia Montana in Romania and Dolaucothi in west Wales. The Rio Tinto wheel
is now shown in the British Museum, and the Dolaucothi
specimen in the National Museum of Wales.

3.5 Surveying instruments

That he must have been well practised in surveying is

shown by his descriptions of surveying instruments, especially the water level or chorobates, which he compares
favourably with the groma, a device using plumb lines.
They were essential in all building operations, but especially in aqueduct construction, where a uniform gradi3.3 Materials
ent was important to the provision of a regular supply of
water without damage to the walls of the channel. He
He describes many dierent construction materials used also developed one of the rst odometers, consisting of
for a wide variety of dierent structures, as well as such a wheel of known circumference that dropped a pebble
details as stucco painting. Concrete and lime receive in- into a container on every rotation.
depth descriptions, the longevity of many Roman structures being mute testimony to the Romans skill in build3.6 Central heating
ing materials and design.
Vitruvius is well known and often cited as one of the earliest surviving sources to have advised that lead should not
be used to conduct drinking water, recommending clay
pipes or masonry channels. He comes to this conclusion
in Book VIII of De Architectura after empirical observation of the apparent laborer illnesses in the lead foundries
of his time.[22]
Vitruvius gives us the famous story about Archimedes and
his detection of adulterated gold in a royal crown. When
Archimedes realised that the volume of the crown could
be measured exactly by the displacement created in a bath
of water, he ran into the street with the cry of Eureka!,
and the discovery enabled him to compare the density of
the crown with pure gold. He showed that the crown had Ruins of the hypocaust under the oor of a Roman villa. The
been alloyed with silver, and the king defrauded.
part under the exedra is covered.
He describes the many innovations made in building
design to improve the living conditions of the inhabitants. Foremost among them is the development of the
hypocaust, a type of central heating where hot air developed by a re was channelled under the oor and inside
the walls of public baths and villas. He gives explicit instructions how to design such buildings so that fuel eciency is maximised, so that for example, the caldarium
is next to the tepidarium followed by the frigidarium. He
also advises on using a type of regulator to control the
heat in the hot rooms, a bronze disc set into the roof under a circular aperture which could be raised or lowered
Design for an Archimedean water-screw
by a pulley to adjust the ventilation. Although he does not
He describes the construction of Archimedes screw in suggest it himself, it is likely that his dewatering devices
Chapter X (without mentioning Archimedes by name). such as the reverse overshot water-wheel was used in the

3.4

Dewatering machines

5
larger baths to lift water to header tanks at the top of the
larger thermae, such as the Baths of Diocletian. The one
which was used in Bath of Caracalla for grinding our.

List of kings Croesus, Alexander the Great, Darius

On abusing dead authors Zoilus Homeromastix,

Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Lists of names given in Book VII

Introduction

In book sevens introduction Vitruvius goes through great

lengths to present why he is qualied to write De Architectura. This is the only location in the book where Vitruvius
specically addresses his personal breadth of knowledge.
Similar to a modern reference section, the authors position as one who is knowledgeable and educated is established. The topics range across many elds of expertise
reecting that in Roman times as today construction is a
diverse eld. Vitruvius is clearly a well-read man.
In addition to providing his qualication, Vitruvius summarizes a recurring theme throughout the 10 books, a
non-trivial and core contribution of his treatise outside
simply a construction book. Vitruvius makes the point
that the work of some of the most talented are unknown,
while many who are of lesser talent but greater political
position are famous.[21] This theme runs through Vitruviuss ten books repeatedly - echoing an implicit prediction that his works and himself will also be unknown.
Which was true for over a thousand years after he completed the 10 books.
Vitruvius illustrates this point by naming what he considers are the most talented individuals in history.[21] Implicitly challenging the reader that they have never heard
of some of these people. Vitruvius goes on and predicts
that some of these individuals will be forgotten and their
works will be lost. While other less deserving political
characters of history will be forever remembered with
pageantry - again an non-trivial claim when we remember that this is the builder of Julius Caesars war machines
and fortications; the inclusion of this list is important to
illustrate the truth of Vitruviuss claim and should not be
removed.
The red links below (some of the blue links only exist
as stubs based on Vitruviuss list and short narratives) do
not have a Wikipedia page and outside of inclusion on
Vitruviuss list under a categorization, nothing is known
of them. Ironically, they may be unknown because the
ancient Library of Alexandria was accidentally burned in
48 BC during a siege by Julius Caesar. Vitruvius does
not mention the architecture of Egypt so was probably
not involved in this siege.

On plagiarism Aristophanes, Ptolemy I Soter,

Attalus

On divergence of the visual rays Agatharchus,

Aeschylus, Democritus, Anaxagoras
List of writers on temples Silenus, Theodorus,
Chersiphron and Metagenes, Ictinus and Carpion,
Theodorus the Phocian, Hermogenes, Arcesius,
Satyrus and Pytheos
List of Artists Leochares, Bryaxis,
Praxiteles, Timotheus (Timotheos)

Scopas,

List of writers on laws of symmetry Nexaris,

Theocydes, Demophilus, Pollis, Leonidas, Silanion,
Melampus, Sarnacus, Euphranor
List of writers on machinery Diades of Pella,
Archytas, Archimedes, Ctesibius, Nymphodorus,
Philo of Byzantium, Diphilus, Democles, Charias,
Polyidus of Thessaly, Pyrrus, Agesistratus,
Abdaraxus
List of writers on architecture Fucius, Terentius
Varro, Publius Septimius (writer)
List of architects Antistates,
Antimachides, Pormus, Cossutius

Callaeschrus,

List of greatest temple architects Chersiphron of

Gnosus, Metagenes, Demetrius, Paeonius the Milesian, Ephesian Daphnis, Ictinus, (Philo) Philon,
Cossutius, Gaius Muc

5 Rediscovery

His book De architectura was rediscovered in 1414 by the

Florentine humanist Poggio Bracciolini. To Leon Battista Alberti (14041472) falls the honour of making this
work widely known in his seminal treatise on architecture De re aedicatoria (c. 1450). The rst known edition of Vitruvius was in Rome by Fra Giovanni Sulpitius
in 1486.[23][24] Translations followed in Italian (Como,
1521), French (Jean Martin, 1547,[25] English, German
List of physicists Thales, Democritus, Anaxagoras,
(Walter H. Ry, 1543) and Spanish and several other lanXenophanes
guages. The original illustrations had been lost and the
rst illustrated edition was published in Venice in 1511
List of philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Zeno, with woodcut illustrations, based on descriptions in the
Epicurus
text, probably by Fra Giovanni Giocondo.[26] Later in

REFERENCES

Roman monuments like the Pantheon and the Baths of

Diocletian in Rome.

6 Legacy
Vitruvius Britannicus - 18th century work on British
architecture named after Vitruvius.

Battle of Thapsus as depicted in an engraving after Andrea Palladio

Den Danske Vitruvius - 18th century work

on Danish architecture - inspired by Vitruvius
Britannicus.[27]
A small lunar crater has been named after Vitruvius
and also an elongated lunar mountain Mons Vitruvius close-by. This crater was near the valley that
served as the landing site of the Apollo 17 mission.
The Design Quality Indicator (DQI) tool for buildings uses Vitruviuss principles.
The Master Builder (voiced by Morgan Freeman)
who is the leader of the Master Builders in The Lego
Movie is named Vitruvius.

7 See also
Archimedes
Aristotle
Ctesibius
Colen Campbell
Frontinus
Pliny the Elder
The interior of the Pantheon (from an 18th-century painting by
Panini). Although built after Vitruvius death, its excellent state
of preservation makes it of great importance to those interested
in Vitruvian architecture

Roman architecture
Roman aqueducts
Roman engineering

the 16th-century Andrea Palladio provided illustrations

for Daniele Barbaro's commentary on Vitruvius (which
appeared in Italian and Latin versions). However, the
most famous illustration remains a 15th-century one, Da
Vincis Vitruvian Man.

Roman technology

The surviving ruins of Roman antiquity, the Roman Forum, temples, theatres, triumphal arches and their reliefs
and statues gave ample visual examples of the descriptions in the Vitruvian text. This book then quickly became a major inspiration for Renaissance, Baroque and
Neoclassical architecture. Filippo Brunelleschi, for example, invented a new type of hoist to lift the large stones
for the dome of the cathedral in Florence and was inspired
by De Architectura as well as viewing the many surviving

Lucius Vitruvius Cordo

Vitruvian man
Vitruvian scroll

8 References
[1] De Arch. Book 1, preface. section 2
[2] Yann Le Bohec The Imperial Roman Army Routledge,
pg 49 2000 ISBN 0-415-22295-8

[3] History of ancient North Africa: CONFLICTS AND

BATTLES OF THE HUMANITY, Ancient North Africa
until the Roman conquest, last assessed 10/09/2011.
http://miltiade.pagesperso-orange.fr/GB/Ancient_
North_Africa.htm
[4] Pais, E. Ricerche sulla storia e sul diritto publico di Roma
(Rome, 1916).
[5] Vitruvius Pollio
Vitruvius.aspx

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/

[6] Moore, Richard E. M. (January 1968). A Newly

Observed Stratum in Roman Floor Mosaics. American Journal of Archaeology (Archaeological Institute of
America) 72 (1): 5768. JSTOR 501823.
[7] Niccol Marcello Venuti Description of the First Discoveries of the Ancient City of Heraclea, Found Near Portici
A Country Palace Belonging to the King of the Two Sicilies
published by R. Baldwin, translated by Wickes Skurray,
1750. p62

[18] Fausto Pugnaloni and Paolo Clini Vitruvius Basilica in

Fano, Italy, journey through the virtual space of the reconstructed memory GISdevelopment.net last accessed
3/8/2008
[19] P. Clini VITRUVIUS BASILICA AT FANO: THE
DRAWINGS OF A LOST BUILDING FROM DE
ARCHITECTURA LIBRI DECEM The International
Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and
Spatial Information Sciences, Vol. XXXIV, Part 5/W12
pp121 126 2002
[20] Charles Hutton, Mathematical and Philosophical Dictionary (1795)
[21] Vitruvius, Pollio (transl. Morris Hicky Morgan, 1960),
The Ten Books on Architecture. Courier Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-20645-9.
[22] Hodge, Trevor, A. (October 1981). Vitruvius, Lead
Pipes and Lead Poisoning. American Journal of Archaeology (Archaeological Institute of America) 85 (4): 486
491. JSTOR 504874.

[8] Trumbull, David (2007). Classical Sources, Greek and

Roman Esthetics Reading: The Grand Tour Reader; Vitruvius Background: Life of Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (c.
9020 BC)". An Epitome of Book III of Vitruvius. Retrieved 2009-11-18.

[23] http://www.palladiancenter.org/predecessors.html

[9] Flavius Vegetius Renatus The Military Institutions of

the Romans Translated from the Latin by Lieutenant
John Clarke, Text written in 390 BC. British translation published in 1767. Copyright Expired, http://www.
digitalattic.org/home/war/vegetius/

[26] Architectura Les livres d'Architecture; Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc., Palladios Literary Predecessors

[10] Planning the twentieth-century American city By

Mary Corbin Sies, Christopher Silver, JHU Press,
1996, page 42.
http://books.google.com/books?
id=TUpLvJrKc64C&lpg=PA42&dq=battle%20of%
20Larignum&pg=PA42#v=onepage&q=battle%20of%
20Larignum&f=false
[11] Caesar, De bello Gallico 7.29
[12] Vitruvius mentions Massilia several times, and the siege
itself in Book X.
[13] Liukkonen, Petri. Vitruvius. Books and Writers
(kirjasto.sci.). Finland: Kuusankoski Public Library.
Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
[14] The Vitruvius Project at Carnegie Mellon University,
Computer Science Department This software engineering
project sees itself in the Vitruvian tradition. Accessed August 2008
[15] De Aquis, I.25 (Latin) ebook of work also known as De
aquaeductu, accessed August 2008
[16] Reed Business Information (21 November 1974). New
Scientist. Reed Business Information. pp. 552. ISSN
0262-4079. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
[17] (De Arch., Book V.i.6) (Latin) but with link to English
translation, accessed August 2008

[24] http://www.historyofinformation.com/index.php?id=
2840
[25] Architectura Les livres d'Architecture (French)

[27] Den Danske Vitruvius. AOK. Retrieved 2009-06-23.

9 Sources
Indra Kagis McEwen, Vitruvius: Writing the Body
of Architecture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2004.
ISBN O-262-63306-X
B. Baldwin, The Date, Identity, and Career of Vitruvius. In Latomus 49 (1990), 42534.

10 External links
Media related to Vitruvius at Wikimedia Commons
Works written by or about Vitruvius at Wikisource
Latin Wikisource has original text related to this article: Marcus Vitruvius Pollio
Quotations related to Vitruvius at Wikiquote
Works by Vitruvius at Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Vitruvius at Internet Archive
Works by Vitruvius at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

10
The Ten Books on Architecture online: cross-linked
Latin text and English translation
The Ten Books on Architecture at the Perseus Classics Collection. Latin and English text, but the Latin
text is unavailable. Images. Latin text has hyperlinks to pop-up dictionary.
Palladios Literary Predecessors
Latin text, version 2
An Abridgment of the Architecture of Vitruvius

Ten Books on Architecture at Project Gutenberg

(Morris Hicky Morgan translation with illustrations)
Vitruvius online
Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian man as an algorithm
for the approximation of the squaring of the circle
Vitruvius theories of beauty a learning resource
from the British Library
Shockwave-Animation: The Odometer of Vitruv
Discussion of the inventions of Vitruvius
Online Galleries, History of Science Collections,
University of Oklahoma Libraries High resolution
images of works by Vitruvius in .jpg and .ti format.
digital scans in high resolution of 73 editions of Vitruvius from 1497 to 1909 from the Werner Oechslin
Library, Einsiedeln, Switzerland
Vitruvius Summary
VITRUVII, M. De architectura. Naples, (ca.1480).
At Somni.

EXTERNAL LINKS

11
11.1

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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Jonathan.s.kt, Finell, Lviatour, Sardanaphalus, SmackBot, Unyoyega, Kintetsubualo, Flamarande, Srnec, Commander Keane bot, Hmains,
Thumperward, MalafayaBot, DHN-bot~enwiki, Gracenotes, Andropow~enwiki, SundarBot, Citizenabc, RandomP, Terrasidius, SashatoBot, Archimerged, Dumelow, Bjankuloski06en~enwiki, Peterlewis, Sailko, RandomCritic, Maksim L., Neddyseagoon, Alanmaher,
Mab2112, TKottler, Courcelles, Woodshed, CmdrObot, Mcginnly, Richard Keatinge, Cydebot, Ntsimp, Epanalepsis, Robert.Allen,
Thijs!bot, Sry85, Kamiawolf, Greendale4, Mentisto, EdJogg, Pichote, Ingolfson, Fetchcomms, Charles01, Cynwolfe, MartinDK, VegKilla, Cgingold, Shunterk92, CCS81, Nankai, Jim.henderson, R'n'B, Nono64, Hans Dunkelberg, FactsAndFigures, LaTeeDa, Zazpi,
Shoessss, Fjbfour, Inwind, Klaus rabe, Idioma-bot, Jeery Weskamp, Deor, VolkovBot, TXiKiBoT, Newell Post, Xmarxthespot, Broadbot,
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ClueBot, Unbuttered Parsnip, Der Golem, Macedonius, BOTarate, Rui Gabriel Correia, Thingg, Aitias, DumZiBoT, Avoided, Lorenzogeraci, Lenzorg~enwiki, Kbdankbot, Addbot, AkhtaBot, AnnaFrance, AgadaUrbanit, Lightbot, Jim, Legobot, Luckas-bot, Yobot, Rubinbot, Dinesh smita, Citation bot, Xqbot, Vitruve78, GrouchoBot, Omnipaedista, RibotBOT, The Underground Man, Haploidavey, Green
Cardamom, Peabody80, Pshent, Jonesey95, MondalorBot, Trappist the monk, Olimpico, RjwilmsiBot, TjBot, EmausBot, Racerx11, Hourton Cladwell, Hisnamewasrobertpaulsen, H3llBot, Zap Rowsdower, Brandmeister, BL Gildersleeve, SEFord, ClueBot NG, Carjoyg, Davidiad, Arminden, Tudorkite, R20nz, SantoshBot, Hmainsbot1, Arjuncm3, HaiDeaf, Leonardo the Florentine, Netwt, KasparBot and
Anonymous: 148

11.2

Images

File:Archscrew2.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Archscrew2.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: Own scan of old journal, transferred from en.wikipedia Original artist: Original uploader was Peterlewis at en.wikipedia
File:Battle_of_Thapsus.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/Battle_of_Thapsus.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
File:Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_Viatour.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Da_Vinci_Vitruve_Luc_
Viatour.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Own work www.lucnix.be. 2007-09-08 (photograph). Photograpy:
Original artist: Leonardo da Vinci
File:Edit-clear.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: Public domain Contributors: The
Tango! Desktop Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the le, specically: Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).
File:Greekhse1.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Greekhse1.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Transferred from en.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Romaine using CommonsHelper. Original artist: Original uploader was
Peterlewis at en.wikipedia
File:Hypocaustum.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Hypocaustum.jpg License: CC-BY-SA-3.0 Contributors: Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. Original artist: The original uploader was Error at English Wikipedia
File:Pantheon-panini.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Pantheon-panini.jpg License: Public domain
Contributors: upload to English wikipedia by 19.05.2004 Original artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini
File:SPQRomani.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/SPQRomani.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Own work Original artist: Piotr Micha Jaworski (<a href='//pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedysta:Piom' class='extiw' title='pl:
Wikipedysta:Piom'>PioM</a> EN DE PL)
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File:Vitruvius.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Vitruvius.jpg License: Public domain Contributors:
Taken from Vitruvius on Archtitecture by Thomas Gordon Smith Original artist: Sebastian Le Clerc
File:VitruviusTenBooksMHMorgan1914p295.gif
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/
VitruviusTenBooksMHMorgan1914p295.gif License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?

11.3

Content license

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