Digitized Rare Books

This early Italian translation of Alberti's seminial work on architecture is also the first time the text is illustrated. First published in 1485, Alberti's work is regarded as the first Renaissance treatise on architecture and laid the groundwork for many future publications. This particular edition contains 83 woodcut illustrations of architectural plans, section, elevations, and figural details and especially interesting marginalia.

Published posthumously, Borromini's Opera celebrates his Sant'Ivo Chapel at the University of Rome. 47 plates engraved after Borromini's drawings detail every aspect of the chapel's Baroque splendor. This scarce publication is a highlight of the Ryan Rare Book Room's collection on Baroque Rome.

Intended for architects, this three-part publication carefully and thoroughly documents Rome's modern architecture. Each of the three parts deal with a different typology: Part One, doors and windows; Part Two, chapels and funerary monuments; Part Three, decorative details.