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Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
- Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
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RE: Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
MarcoP > 01-02-2026, 08:22 PM
The dedication to the Emperor is in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view., so it seems clear that (as You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view. say) the dedication is about books three and four.
The dedication appears next to an image of St. Dorothy, who speaks in first person in the second paragraph. Translation by You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.:
Quote:For you, Sigismund, most exalted prince, ever venerable King of the Romans, I beseech almighty God and the word of the Father, the creator of all, that He may support you in the faith, in long-lasting health and in His love, that you may fight against our enemies and that you may obtain victory over them, receive the imperial crown of the entire world, and, on the day of achievement, be led to eternal life, amen.
To your sacred majesty I always recommend Ser Marianus Jacobi, secretary of the Domus Sapientiae in Siena, who composed this little book and drew my picture. May you be pleased to accept him as one of your family and court, and by the authority of your power to make him master of machines for waterworks. It is his intention to dwell in your Hungarian regions and there to finish his days; to attend to all the devices for waterworks; in books to describe all things done and achieved by you, kings of Hungary, and your antecedents, according to his ability to compile [what is known of] every place; and in said books in margins of the pages to design and illustrate stories.
ST. DOROTHY -
RE: Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
Bernd > 01-02-2026, 09:12 PM
Yes, this is clear. But do you think Taccola gave his original notebook which would eventually become Palatino 766 to Sigismund? That would have seemed a bit odd but not out of question, considering it is believed Palatino 766 left Taccola's possession soon after completion. Or would he have made/commissioned a more lavish copy for the Emperor?
I have the feeling these statements he let St. Dorothy say about him are more hopes and dreams than reality, much like Taccola's illustrations. Clearly he never left Italy to serve Sigismund in Bohemia/Hungary, nor did they ever meet again. It is not even clear if he and the other Sienese men were actually present in Mantua when they received the title comites palatini on Sep. 24th 1433. To me Taccola appears as someone who had made such a meeting and gift to his revered Emperor well-known and written about it. Yet nothing of such a meting or donation is known even though Taccola continued to work on his other books long after 1433.
The main research question I see is - what happened to Taccola's original manuscripts after his death? And how did Palatino 766 end up in BNCF? -
RE: Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
MarcoP > 01-02-2026, 10:03 PM
(01-02-2026, 09:12 PM)Bernd Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.But do you think Taccola gave his original notebook which would eventually become Palatino 766 to Sigismund?
My personal opinion is totally irrelevant: I barely knew that Taccola existed until a couple of days ago. Luckily, there are scholars who studied the subject and we can refer to their work. -
RE: Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
Bluetoes101 > 02-02-2026, 12:22 AM
(01-02-2026, 10:48 AM)Koen G Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.An interesting question would be where this ray-star sun type came from. I doubt Taccola invented the type.
I don't know, but the sun as a star seems "new" for the time. I wonder if it was astrologers who thought this, or some other specialists for example.
I don't think its common for people to have identified the sun as a star, though my knowledge on this is pretty close to zero.
I think the general consensus at the time was the sun was a planet.. be it a very hot/bright one.. -
RE: Palatino 766 pipes, pools, cliffs, streams... (by Taccola)
Bernd > 02-02-2026, 12:39 AM
Well, your personal opinion certainly matters to me, Marco, and I think to most of the readers here as well!
There is surprisingly little academic work on Taccola. Shelby (1975) is quite critical about the facsimiles of Prager and Beck which were both published in the early 70s yet independently of each other. I don't know the forum policy on uploading articles but here you go. 7 articles, 35MB:
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I am still missing these publications:
Beck, J.H., ed. (1969). Mariano di Jacopo detto il Taccola, 'Liber tertius de ingeneis ac edifitiis non usitatis'. Milan: dizioni il Polifilo. p. 156.
Knobloch, Eberhard (1981). Mariano di Jacopo detto Taccolas De machinis: Ein Werk der italienischen Frührenaissance. Technikgeschichte. Vol. 48. pp. 1–27