Treatise by Teofilo Gallacini on the errors of architects, which is a book that has been published for
the first time in Venice 1767. The publisher is Giovanni Battista Pasquali, who was a famous printer
in Venice.
The book is divided in three parts with a preface before the first part. After said preface is an index in
which the three parts are listed and each part is subsequently divided into eight to ten parts depending
on chapter. The first part has eight chapters that discuss themes such as errors of bad weather or bad
choice of location. The second part focuses more on the errors when for example misusing ornaments
or the lack of decorum. This part has ten chapters. And lastly the third part which themes are errors
which are made after building a structure or nearing the end of it. Chapters of this third part are for
example: errors that occur when new charges are placed on old walls or general errors of rebuilding.
This part has nine chapters.
In all these chapters, illustrations are used to more easily explain the obstacles in which the architect
during the baroque era. For instance, in the third and fourth chapters of the second part there are
illustrations, where columns are placed between eyes to describe the impact on the viewer and how
they would perceive them. A few pages later the antique order of columns are depicted, as they were
very relevant for any architect in the era.
While the book may have some recurring themes, many important errors are described meticulously
and include poems and a pleasant layout, which go perfectly together with the mentioned illustrations.