Francesco di Giorgio Martini is one of the few fifteenth century Sienese artists who became
known outside his native city. Working at the courts of Urbino Naples and Milan he was a
typical Renaissance uomo universale but his major achievements were in military and civil
architecture complemented by the composition of a theoretical treatise. The collection of
essays does not offer a comprehensive study of the artist's architectural oeuvre but rather
emphasizes the partial nature of the scholarly endeavor so far undertaken. The essays discuss
Francesco's theory his drawings from the antique the individual characteristics of his
practice and the reception of his work. They share a common idea: invention which emerges as
a valid theoretical framework possibly the only one capable of encompassing Francesco di
Giorgio's versatile accomplishments.
