Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

A translation into English of the Renaissance text "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili", a pagan, allegorical, mythological romance relating in Latin the quest of Poliphilo for his beloved Polia. The author was obsessed by architecture, and there are 172 woodcuts of gardens and buildings.

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Exactly 500 years after its first publication, by the great Venetian publishing house of Aldus Manutius, Francesco Colonna's weird, erotic, allegorical antiquarian tale, "Hypnerotomachia Poliphili", was translated into English and reprinted in full, together with all of its 174 original woodcut illustrations. It has been called the first "stream of consciousness" novel and was one of the most important documents of Renaissance imagination and fantasy. The author - presumed to be a friar of dubious reputation - was obsessed by architecture, landscape and costume (it is not going to far to say sexually obsessed) and its woodcuts are a primary source for Renaissance ideas on both buildings and plants. This translation was first published in 1999 in a facsimile format. This new edition reproduces everything about one third smaller, retaining all the text and illustrations, and is easy to handle and read.