Height- adjustable scaffolding and crane

Anonimous from Francesco di Giorgio Martini
(Siena 1439-1501)
Treatise on Military and Civil Architecture
early 17th cen. Parchment manuscript

Francesco di Giorgio Martini, the Sienese artist, architect, and engineer, compiled the first version of his Treatise on Military and Civil Architecture in Urbino between 1480 and 1482, which was later followed by several revised editions. Dedicated to architecture and engineering, it was based largely on Vitruvius's De Architectura, one of the fundamental texts from classical antiquity. A chief innovation of the work was that it was illustrated by numerous architectural and mechanical drawings. It soon became one of the most important treatises of the Renaissance, becoming popular in various handwritten versions. Leonardo himself had a copy in his library.
Its significance is demonstrated by the fact that numerous handwritten copies of it were produced all throughout the following century, like this one, which is incomplete, from the early 1600s.