“Ancora nel fare s’adatteranno meglio che con parole non si può dire”: alcune considerazioni sui passaggi tecnico-costruttivi nell’architettonico libro di Filarete

Abstract

This contribution focuses on the many passages in Filarete’s treatise that deal with technical issues. “Ridiculous and silly”, as Giorgio Vasari put it, Filarete’s architettonico libro (written between the late 1450s and 1466; first partially printed in 1890) has only recently been read as a source for Quattrocento building practice. In the following pages, some common elements in Filarete’s passages that deal with building techniques are highlighted. In general, these passages seem to be of relevance for the literary construction and the dialogue; they consistently evince an empirical attitude, express results of direct observation, and convey coherent reflections on the instruments of the architect and on the meaning of writing. By no means a definitive assessment, this contribution raises some historiographical questions about the link between the writing of architectural treatises and building culture in the early modern period.