Building more mathematico in Renaissance Venice

Abstract

In the mid-fifteenth century, Venice inherited Cardinal Bessarione’s collection of ancient manuscripts, an exceptional legacy that contributed to the renewal of mathematical studies. This essay outlines the spread of mathematics in Venice in the early Renaissance, when scholars actively discussed Euclid and universal proportions. Based on this cultural context, the author briefly analyzes the role of polyhedra and an example of the application of proportions to architecture: the church of San Francesco della Vigna in Venice. This church is an interesting and rare case of ‘declared’ application of proportions to architecture, since we have specific indications in Francesco Zorzi’s memorandum written in 1535.