( 1543 - 1607 )
Folio (407 x 270 mm). First book: 98 sheets, including engraved title, additional engraved title with portrait of Fontana, woodcut initials, and 36 full-page etched and engraved illustrations by Natale Bonifazio da Sebenico; second book: 30, [2] with 17 full page engravings in the text. Occasional spotting, finger soiling, browning, restorations and marginal damp staining. Full vellum binding restored on front board and spine. The two engraved titles restored and backed with contemporary paper. Fontana organized and directed this successful attempt to move the Vatican obelisk. Over 900 men, 150 horses and 47 cranes were required, and the project took four and a half months to complete (from 30 April to 10 September 1586). The plates "are important examples in the development of architectural drawing" (Fowler), and are considered by Olschki to be "remarquables au point de vue artistique autant que technique." Some plates towards the end illustrate the buildings designed by Fontana for Sixtus V. "Besides its great graphic virtues, then, this book by Fontana is an important source for the history of architecture. It is differentiated from contemporary theoretical publications by its dominant technical and pragmatic approach to architectural problems, and specifically by its interest in the organization of the construction site, its vast vision, and its research in architectural typology" (Millard).
