FILONZI, Francescantonio.

£1,750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Pratiche Matematiche. First edition of this introduction to practical mathematics. Explicitly intended for commercial use, the present work offers guidance on a wide variety of technical subjects; one of the most interesting is how geometry can be applied to land surveying, mapping, and valuation. This work is institutionally rare.Filonzi (1736-1775) was a distinguished mathematician who was commissioned by the Archbishop of Fermo, Urbano Paracciani (1715-1777), to assist in the building of Castel Clementino in Marche in 1771. The project became an exemplary model of a città di fondazione based on the Renaissance conception of an "ideal city"; the present work, dedicated to Paracciani, explains some of the geometric techniques used in its construction. Filonzi was also a teacher of philosophy and theology as a member of the Order of Friars Minor. Pratiche Matematiche is his only published work, of which a second edition appeared in 1804. It is split into three treatises on arithmetic, agriculture, and cosmography, and includes puzzles and games with a mercantile theme. The guide is accompanied by numerous plates demonstrating geometric forms and instruments.This work is relatively uncommon institutionally: WorldCat locates seven copies in all, one apiece in the UK (UCL) and Germany (Staatsbibliothek Berlin), and five in the US (Harvard, Columbia, California, Michigan, and Oklahoma).

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