''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' (; ), called in English ''Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream'' or ''The Dream of Poliphilus'', is a book said to be by Francesco Colonna. It is a famous example of an

incunable An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

(a work of early printing). The work was first published in 1499 in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; ; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and Renaissance humanism, humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preser ...

. This first edition has an elegant page layout, with refined

woodcut Woodcut is a relief printing technique in printmaking. An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood—typically with gouges—leaving the printing parts level with the surface while removing the non-printing parts. Areas that ...

illustrations in an

Early Renaissance Renaissance art (1350 – 1620) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which occurr ...

style. ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' presents a mysterious arcane

allegory As a List of narrative techniques, literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a wikt:narrative, narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a meaning with moral or political signi ...

in which the main

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

, Poliphilo, pursues his love, Polia, through a dreamlike landscape. In the end, he is reconciled with her by the "Fountain of Venus".

History

The ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' was printed by

in December 1499. The author of the book is

anonymous Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

. However, an

acrostic An acrostic is a poem or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or paragraph, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the Fre ...

formed by the first, elaborately decorated letter in each chapter in the original Italian reads "POLIAM FRATER FRANCISCVS COLVMNA PERAMAVIT", which means "Brother Francesco Colonna has dearly loved Polia". Despite this clue, the book has also been attributed to

Leon Battista Alberti Leon Battista Alberti (; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian Renaissance humanist author, artist, architect, poet, Catholic priest, priest, linguistics, linguist, philosopher, and cryptography, cryptographer; he epitomised the natu ...

, and earlier, to

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

. Manutius himself claimed that the author was a different Francesco Colonna, a wealthy

Roman governor A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many Roman province, provinces constituting the Roman Empire. The generic term in Roman legal language was ''re ...

. The identity of the

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

has at times been attributed to Benedetto Montagna, and

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

. The subject matter of the book lies within the tradition (or

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

) of the

Romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

. It follows the conventions of

courtly love Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...

, which in 1499 continued to provide engaging thematic matter for the

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

aristocrats. The ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' also draws from Renaissance humanism where arcane writings are a demonstration of classical thought. The text of the book is written in a bizarre

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

ate

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. Without explanation, the text is full of words based on Latin and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...

. The book, however, also includes words from the Italian language and illustrations which include

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

words. Moreover, Colonna would invent new forms of language when those available to him were inaccurate. The book also contains some uses of

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

hieroglyph Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

s, but they are not authentic. Most of them have been drawn from a

late antique Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodization has since been wide ...

text of dubious origin called ''

Hieroglyphica Horapollo (from Horus Apollo; ) (5th century?) is the supposed author of a treatise, titled ''Hieroglyphica'', on Egyptian hieroglyphs, extant in a Greek translation by one Philippus, also dating to 5th century. Life Horapollo is mentioned by the ...

''. The ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'', set in 1467, consists of a series of precious and elaborate scenes involving the title character, Poliphilo ("friend of many things" from the Greek words ''poly-'' meaning "many" and ''philos'' meaning "friend"). In these scenes, Poliphilo wanders a

bucolic The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target aud ...

-classical dreamland in search of his love, Polia ("many things"). The author's style is elaborately descriptive and unsparing in its use of superlatives. The text makes frequent references to classical geography and mythology, mostly by way of comparison. The book has long been sought after as one of the most beautiful

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

ever printed. The

typography Typography is the art and technique of Typesetting, arranging type to make written language legibility, legible, readability, readable and beauty, appealing when displayed. The arrangement of type involves selecting typefaces, Point (typogra ...

is famous for its quality and clarity. Its roman typeface, cut by

Francesco Griffo Francesco Griffo (1450–1518), also called Francesco da Bologna, was a fifteenth-century Italian punchcutter. He worked for Aldus Manutius, designing the printer's more important humanist typefaces, including the first italic type. He cut Roman, ...

, is a revised version of a type which Aldus had first used in 1496 for the ''De Aetna'' of

Pietro Bembo Pietro Bembo, (; 20 May 1470 – 18 January 1547) was a Venetian scholar, poet, and literary theory, literary theorist who also was a member of the Knights Hospitaller and a cardinal of the Catholic Church. As an intellectual of the Italian Re ...

. The type is thought to be one of the first examples of the roman typeface, and in incunabula, it is unique to the Aldine Press. The type was revived by the

Monotype Corporation Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc., founded as Lanston Monotype Machine Company in 1887 in Philadelphia by Tolbert Lanston, is an American (historically Anglo-American) company that specializes in digital typesetting and typeface design for use wit ...

in 1923 as "Poliphilus". In 1929,

Stanley Morison Stanley Arthur Morison (6 May 1889 – 11 October 1967) was a British typographer, printing executive and historian of printing. Largely self-educated, he promoted higher standards in printing and an awareness of the best printing and typefaces ...

directed another revival of the earlier version of Griffo's type. It was called "

Bembo Bembo is a serif typeface created by the British branch of the Monotype Imaging, Monotype Corporation in 1928–1929 and most commonly used for body text. It is a member of the "Serif#Old-style, old-style" of serif fonts, with its regular or ro ...

". The ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' is illustrated with 168 exquisite

s showing the scenery, architectural settings, and some of the characters Poliphilo encounters in his dreams. They depict scenes from Poliphilo's adventures and the architectural features over which the author rhapsodizes, in a simultaneously stark and ornate

line art Line art or line drawing is any image that consists of distinct straight lines or curved lines placed against a background (usually plain). Two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects are often represented through shade (darkness) or hue (co ...

style. This integrates perfectly with the type, an example of typographic art. The illustrations are interesting because they shed light on the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

man's taste in the æsthetic qualities of

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

antiquities. In the United States, a book on the life and works of Aldus Manutius by

Helen Barolini Helen Frances Barolini ( Mollica; November 18, 1925 – March 29, 2023) was an American writer, editor, and translator. As a second-generation Italian American, Barolini often wrote on issues of Italian-American identity.How to count American imm ...

was set within pages that reproduce all the illustrations and many of the full pages from the original work, reconstructing the original layout. The

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...

admired the book, believing the dream images presaged his theory of

archetypes The concept of an archetype ( ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, philosophy and literary analysis. An archetype can be any of the following: # a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main mo ...

. The style of the woodcut illustrations had a great influence on late nineteenth century English illustrators, such as

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley ( ; 21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. ...

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

, and

Robert Anning Bell Robert Anning Bell (14 April 1863 – 27 November 1933) was an English artist and designer. Early life Robert Anning Bell was born in London on 14 April 1863, the son of Robert George Bell, a cheesemonger, and Mary Charlotte Knight. He studied ...

. In 1592, in a

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

edition, "R. D." (who is believed to be

Robert Dallington Sir Robert Dallington (1561–1637) was an English courtier, travel writer and translator, and master of the London Charterhouse. Life Dallington was born at Geddington, Northamptonshire. He entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and was ther ...

) partially translated the ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili''. Here, it was given its best known English title, ''The Strife of Love in a Dream''.Robert Dallington resumed(1592), ''The Strife of Love in a Dream''. In 1890 a limited (500 copies) edition of the first book was published by David Nutt in the Strand. This was edited by Andrew Laing
Online version
at the Internet Archive, accessed on 2010-02-08. In 1999, a first complete English translation by musicologist

Joscelyn Godwin Joscelyn Godwin (born 16 January 1945 at Kelmscott, Oxfordshire, England) is a composer, musicologist, and translator, known for his work on ancient music, paganism, and music in the occult. Biography He was educated as a chorister at Chri ...

was published.Joscelyn Godwin (transl.) (1999), ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, the Strife of Love in a Dream'', a modern English translation, set in the Poliphilus typeface. Thames & Hudson. . Paperback edition published in 2005. However his translation uses standard, modern language, rather than following the original text's pattern of coining and borrowing words. Since the 500th anniversary in 1999, several other modern translations have been published. These include a translation into modern Italian as part of the (volume 1: fac-simile; volume 2: translation, introductory essays and more than 700 pages of

commentary Commentary or commentaries may refer to: Publications * ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee * Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...

) edition by Marco Ariani and Mino Gabriele; into Spanish by Pilar Pedraza Martínez; into Dutch with one volume of

by Ike Cialona; into German, with

inserted into the text, by

Thomas Reiser Thomas Reiser (born 1979 in Bayreuth, Germany) is a German philologist and translator. His contributions range from Baroque alchemy to comedies and art technological treatises of classical antiquity as well as of the Italian Renaissance. In 20 ...

; and partly into Polish by Anna Klimkiewicz. A complete Russian translation by the art historian Boris Sokolov is now in progress, of which the "Cythera Island" part was published in 2005 and is available online. The book is planned as a precise reconstruction of the original layout, with

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

types and typography by Sergei Egorov. Ten of the monuments described in the ''Hypnerotomachia'' were reconstructed with

computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images and art with the aid of computers. Computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, digital art, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. ...

and were first published by Esteban A. Cruz in 2006 and in 2012. In 2007, Cruz established a full, design-study project ''Formas Imaginisque Poliphili'', an ongoing independent research project with the objective of reconstructing the content of the ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'', through a multi-disciplinary approach, and with the aid of virtual and traditional reconstruction technology and methods.

Plot summary

The book begins with Poliphilo, who is spending a restless dream-filled night because his beloved, Polia, has shunned him. Poliphilo is transported into a wild forest, where he becomes lost, encounters dragons, wolves and maidens and a large variety of architectural forms. He escapes, and falls asleep once more. He then awakens in a second dream, a dream within the first. He is taken by

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

to meet their queen, and there he is asked to declare his love for Polia, which he does. He is then directed by two nymphs to three gates. He chooses the third, and there he discovers his beloved. They are taken by some more nymphs to a temple to be engaged. Along the way they come across five triumphal processions celebrating their union. They are then taken to the island of Cythera by barge, on which

Cupid In classical mythology, Cupid ( , meaning "passionate desire") is the god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection. He is often portrayed as the son of the love goddess Venus and the god of war Mars. He is also known as Amor (Latin: ...

is the

boatswain A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, or the third hand on a fishing vessel, is the most senior Naval rating, rate of the deck department and is responsible for the ...

. On Cythera, they see another triumphal procession celebrating their union. The narrative is interrupted, and assumed by a second voice, as Polia describes Poliphilo's

erotomania Erotomania, also known as de Clérambault's syndrome, is a relatively uncommon paranoia, paranoid condition that is characterized by an individual's delusions of another person being infatuation, infatuated with them. It is listed in the DSM-5 as ...

from her own point of view. Poliphilo then resumes his narrative (from one-fifth of the way through the book). Polia rejects Poliphilo, but Cupid appears to her in a vision and compels her to return and kiss Poliphilo, who has fallen into a deathlike swoon at her feet. Her kiss revives him. Venus blesses their love, and Poliphilo and Polia are united at last. As Poliphilo is about to take Polia into his arms, Polia vanishes into thin air and Poliphilo wakes up.

Gallery

Image:hypnero.png, Poliphilo kneels before Queen Eleuterylida Image:Hypneroto2.jpg, Two pages of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Image:HypnerotomachiaPoliphili0018.jpg, Page of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili Image:Hypnerotomachia Poliphili pag055.jpg, Magna Porta Image:Hypnérotomachie - éd. Martin - p28r.jpeg, Fountain of a

puer mingens A puer mingēns (; : puerī mingentēs ) is a figure in a work of art depicted as a prepubescent boy in the act of urinating, either actual or simulated. The puer mingens could represent anything from whimsy and boyish innocence to erotic symbols ...

In other works

Liane Lefaivre Liane Lefaivre, a Canadian and an Austrian, is o-Professor (Professor Ordinaria, that is with a chair and tenure) of Architectural History and Theory at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, University of Applied Art in Vienna Austria, now ret ...

and other scholars regard the 16th century

Gardens of Bomarzo The Sacro Bosco ("Sacred Grove"), colloquially called Park of the Monsters (Parco dei Mostri in Italian), also named Garden of Bomarzo, is a Mannerism, Mannerist monumental complex located in Bomarzo, in the province of Viterbo, in northern Lazio, ...

to be illustrations of the ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili''. * The German composer

Alexander Moosbrugger Alexander Moosbrugger (born 21 August 1972 in Bregenzerwald) is an Austrian composer, living since 2001 in Berlin. Biography Alexander Moosbrugger completed studies at the Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium (organ and harpsichord), at the Unive ...

took the text of his 2021 opera ''Wind'', staging the search of Poliphilo for Polia, from the ''Hypnerotomachia's'' German translation by

and the English one by

.Premiere at th
Bregenz Festival (Lake Constance) in 2021
* In

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

's ''

The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana ''The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana'' (original Italian title: ''La Misteriosa Fiamma della Regina Loana'') is a novel by the Italian writer Umberto Eco. It was first published in Italian in 2004, and an English language translation by Geoffrey ...

'', the protagonist has written a diploma thesis about the ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.'' * In the novel ''

The Rule of Four :''This article relates to the 2004 novel. For the legal practice, see Rule of four''. The Rule of Four is a novel written by the American authors Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, and published in 2004. Caldwell, a Princeton University grad ...

'' by

Ian Caldwell Ian Mackinnon Caldwell (born March 18, 1976) is an American novelist known for co-authoring the 2004 novel '' The Rule of Four''. His second book, ''The Fifth Gospel'', was published in 2015. Early life and education Caldwell was born on March 1 ...

and

Dustin Thomason Dustin Thomason (born February 17, 1976) is an American writer and producer who co-authored the ''New York Times'' bestselling historical fiction novel '' The Rule of Four'' with Ian Caldwell. Novels Thomason began his career as a novelist. He i ...

the protagonists decode hidden meanings in the ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.''

Notes

References

Blunt, Anthony Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), (formerly styled Sir Anthony Blunt from 1956 until November 1979), was a leading British art historian and a Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University o ...

, "The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili in Seventeenth Century France", Journal of Warburg and Courtauld, October 1937 * Fiertz-David, Linda. ''The Dream of Poliphilo: The Soul in Love'', Spring Publications, Dallas, 1987 (Bollingen Lectures). * Gombrich, E.H., ''Symbolic Images'', Phaidon, Oxford, 1975, "Hypnerotomachiana". * Lefaivre, Liane. ''Leon Battista Alberti's ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'': Re-cognizing the architectural body in the early Italian Renaissance''. Cambridge, Massachusetts .a. MIT Press 1997. . * Pérez-Gómez, Alberto. ''Polyphilo or The Dark Forest Revisited: An Erotic Epiphany of Architecture.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press 1992. , Introduction by Alberto Pérez-Gómez. * Schmeiser, Leonhard. ''Das Werk des Druckers. Untersuchungen zum Buch'' Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Maria Enzersdorf: Edition Roesner 2003. , Austrian philosopher argues for

' authorship. * Tufte, Edward. Chapter i
Beautiful Evidence
* Cruz, Esteban Alejandro, ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: Re-discovering Antiquity Through the Dreams of Poliphilus'' Victoria: Trafford Publishing, 2006. . Artist reconstructions of the architecture and landscapes described by Poliphilus during his amorous quest through Antiquity. * Cruz, Esteban Alejandro, "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: An Architectural Vision from the First Renaissance" London: Xlibris Publishing, 2012. VOL 1: 978-1-4628-7247-3, VOL 2: 978-1-4771-0069-1. A second book of what seems to become a series of publications on the subject.

External links

The original 1499 edition

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili : ubi humana omnia non nisisomnium esse docet atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat
digital version, from th
Boston Public Library collection at Archive.org

facsimile and discussion, from the

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

High-resolution photographs
from th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

High-resolution photographs of the full book
from the

Cary Graphic Arts Collection The Cary Graphic Arts Collection is a library and archive of books, type specimens, manuscripts, documents, and artifacts related to the history of graphical communication. Located in Wallace Library at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), ...

Complete digital surrogate
of copy in th
Menil Collection Library
in Houston Texas.
high-resolution scan
of a copy in the

Herzog August Bibliothek The Herzog August Library ( — "HAB"), in Wolfenbüttel, Lower Saxony, known also as ''Bibliotheca Augusta'', is a library of international importance for its collection from the Middle Ages and early modern Europe. The library is overseen ...

Wolfenbüttel * I
PDFTXT (ZIP)
an
RTF (ZIP)
formats from Liber Liber
Facsimile of thirteen pages
with a five-minute reading from Godwin's 1999 translation (from the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in th ...

) * * Colonna, Francesco, et al. Poliphili Hypnerotomachia, 1499. Partially digitised at the

State Library of New South Wales The State Library of New South Wales, part of which is known as the Mitchell Library, is a large heritage-listed special collections, reference and research library open to the public and is one of the oldest libraries in Australia. Establis ...

SAFE/RB/LQ0002/C

The 1592 English edition

Hypnerotomachia
at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

The Strife of Love in a Dreame
In PDF or DJVU, and beta flip-book formats

at The Ex-Classics Project. Contains the 1592 edition, and a summary of the rest of the book, with all the illustrations from the original, notes and glossary; available in various formats or can be read online.

The French editions

Les Livres D’Architecture
at Architectura
1600 Edition created by Béroalde de Verville
at e-rara.ch, Swiss digital library's C.G. Jung collection
1600 edition by Béroalde de Verville
at Bibliothèques Virtuelles Humanistes
Woodcuts from the French edition with iconographic descriptions
in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database

The Russian edition

Travel to Cythera Island

Background and interpretation

from the

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

Library's Special Collections Department
Prints & People: A Social History of Printed Pictures
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' (see index)

Research Projects

''Imaginary models of Poliphilus revealed.'' Reconstruction of the architecture, gardens, landscapes, monuments, interiors, accessories, and objects as described in the ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' through a multi-disciplinary research platform, and with the aid of virtual applications and methods used in the Cultural Heritage Industry. {{Authority control 1499 books Renaissance literature Italian literature Allegory Incunabula Woodcuts Renaissance prints 15th-century books in Latin 15th-century prints 15th-century novels