General subject of the book
The book “Libro d’Antonio Labacco appartenente a l’architettura”, written in 1558 by Antonio Labacco, provides key insights into Roman architecture. It seems to contain very precise measurements of Corinth columns and impressive perspective drawings of old temples and very representative buildings in the Roman Empire. I gather this from simply interpreting the frontispiece since the book is written in Italian, which I do not speak a word of. It depicts two women holding measuring instruments in front of a large arch. In the background, you can see the ruins of Greek architecture lying on the floor. The only thing that is still intact is a part of an old Roman temple with its Corinthian columns, large foundations and remnants of the roof. Consequently, I think the author wants to tell us that Roman architecture is the architecture that the people of that time should aspire to, just as the Roman architect Vitruvius had recommended.
Organisation of the book
The book is not divided up into any sort of chapters or sections, but does have a systematic build-up, starting, in general, with a building and then gradually going into more and more detail, for example a detailed drawing of a column. “Libro d’Antonio Labacco appartenente a l’architettura” is a fairly large book; the dimensions of its pages are 290 mm x 380 mm. The images seem to be either printed or copied onto the individual pages, as at the edges look like what we would call a scan today.
Total number of pages and illustrations
The book has 51 pages and 34 images.
