The semester is slowly coming to an end and so is the friendship with my old friend, Francesco Durantino’s Vitruvio Pollione De Architectura, published in Venice in 1524.
To be honest, it felt more like a fake friendship to me. It was difficult and quite challenging to classify the book, probably because of the language barrier. The book has been translated into Old Italian, so it was quite impossible for me to deal with the book textually. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I could have worked with the text properly. So in the end it was more a formal analysis than a content analysis. But let me reflect from task to task.
Task 1: Location
When we were given the task to deal with a historical book I was curious about it. I thought it was good that we first had to gather the main details in order to get an all-round view and then dive deeper into the theory.
Task 2: Contact
The next task was to get in touch with his old friend. However, after I found out that I couldn’t read the text, the anticipation diminished a bit. However, the trip to Einsiedeln with the visit to the monastery and the library was an experience in itself. The staff of the chair brought the library closer to us and I found a better connection to the task.
Task 3: Lineage
The third task was ok and did not take too much time. It was still interesting to do research on the internet.
Task 4: Text & Image
I think this part of the task was the one that brought me the most. I was able to deal with the formalities of the book and was not hindered by the textual content, which I could not understand.
In conclusion, I could have interacted with the book better if I had understood its language better. All in all, however, the task was a successful attempt to approach a historical book and was enlightening. It is amazing to hold such an old book in my hands and to think about who has already held this book in their hands hundreds of years ago.
From an organisational point of view, I can say that the task was clearly structured and understandable. The mentors were always keen to help with problems.