The book discussed in the following paragraph has the full title: Vocabularium architecturae aedificatoriae – authore Carlo d’Aquino – societatis Jesu – Romae, MDCCXXXIV (1734), Antonii de Rubies, in via Seminarii Romani – superiorum permissu.
It is a lexicon with the ABC of architectural words and each of them is described shortly. As mentioned in the title, it is meant for building contractors ( lat. aedificatoriae)
This books main content is the dictionary, following the ABC. In the beginning we have a short preface to the reader (praefation). It elaborates the meaning and origin of the book. Such as its use of Vitruvius.
Following the preface there is a short note from Franciscus Retz, the superior general of the society of Jesus. He states that he and other theologians of the same society recognized and proved that they were allowed to publish the book. They gave their agreement in form of letters signed by their own hands and protected by their seal. This statement is dated in April 1734.
This gives the book a great significance, due to the approval of one of the most well-regarded people.
The book is -as already mentioned in task 1 – medium sized and has a paper cover with a handwritten title. In the beginning of every new letter there is a small picture, and at the end of each letter there is a small side separator.
There is little information about Carlo d’Aquino. He’s believed to have lived from 1654-1737, and was an academic/intellectual Italian male. Additionally, he was a Jesuit (joined 1669) and scolar.
He wrote books in the following genres: dictionaries, Terminology, Poetry, History. Next to being an author he was also a translator, editor, and creator. The “vocabularium architecturae, aedificatoriae” is one of his most widely held works.