Janello Torriani and the Spanish Empire : A Vitruvian Artisan at the Dawn of the Scientific Revolution.
- 1st ed.
- 1 online resource (462 pages)
- Nuncius Series ; v.2 .
- Nuncius Series .
Intro -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of Illustrations -- List of Abbreviations -- Part 1 -- A Centre of Education for the Vitruvian Artisan at the Periphery of the Empire -- Introduction -- Oblivion and Rediscovery -- The Vitruvian artisan between Renaissance and Scientific Revolution -- Chapter 1 -- Janello Torriani's First Education -- Cremona, the Italian Wars and the Desire for a Better Life -- Fashioning the Aura of the Genius -- Family, Social Status, Education -- Humanist Pedagogy in Cremona -- Chapter 2 -- The Theoretical Clock -- The Science of the Stars -- Renaissance Scientific Instruments -- A Physician as a Mentor: Giorgio Fondulo (Cremona 1473-1545) -- Chapter 3 -- The Practical Clock -- The Guild -- Janello Torriani the Blacksmith -- Between Public Clock and Private Workshop -- Part 2 -- The Emperor's Clockmaker (1540-1558) -- Chapter 4 -- The Artisan Courtier -- The Grand Tour in Reverse -- A Broth of Clocks for the Emperor -- Climbing The Social Ladder -- Chapter 5 -- Networks and Technology in Habsburg Europe -- From Commoner to Courtier -- The Artisan's Apotheosis -- The Mantuan Ambassadors and their Brokerage of Janello's Inventions -- Janello Entrepreneur -- Chapter 6 -- The Microcosm -- The First Machine-Tool to Cut Gears -- Anatomy of the Microcosm -- Part 3 -- Hydraulic Metamorphosis of a Clockmaker at the Court of the Never-Setting Sun -- Chapter 7 -- Mechanics: from Micro to Macro -- Automata, Watches And Great Machines -- Models and the Problems of Scale -- From Clockmaking to Hydraulic Engineering -- Chapter 8 -- Janello in Spain as a Royal Hydraulic Engineer (1563-1585) -- Hydraulic Engineering in the Habsburg Empire -- Toledo: a Paradigmatic Stage for Renaissance Water-Technology -- Chapter 9 -- The First Global Empire Produced the First Giant Water-Machine. Qui Bono? Janello caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea -- Invention and the Practice of Secrecy -- Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index.
Janello Torriani, or Juanelo Turriano (Cremona, ca. 1500 - Toledo, 1585), is the greatest--though forgotten-- among Renaissance inventors and constructors of machines. His story is foundational for the understanding of the roots of the Scientific and the Industrial Revolutions.