The first translation of Vitruvius ” de Architectura ” from Latin into Italian by Cesare Cesariano. De Architectura is the only preserved book about ancient Architecture and according to Vitruvius himself, it was also the first work ever to have a comprehensive description of the architecture and the level of knowledge of civil engineering at the time. « De Architectura » is dedicated to Emperor Augustus in gratitude for his support. It has the character of a textbook.
The Version by Cesare Cesariano is organized into a commentary which includes a introduction by Arnaldo Bruschi, a chapter about « le architetture vitruviante nelle illustrazioni del cesariano » by Francesco Paolo Fiore, a chapter about « le macchine vitruviante nel Rinascimento » by Adriano Carugo and a bibliografie and translations to the English language. « De Architectura » forms the main part of the book which is finished by glossaries and a list of the illustrations. The size of the book is 43.5 x 29 x 5cm what is called « folio» in accordance to traditional standard format. The total number of pages is 390 and total number of illustrations 117. There are nicely decorated letters at the beginning of each chapter.