An interdisciplinary history of standardized measurements. Measurement is all around us—from the circumference of a pizza to the square footage of an apartment, from the length of a newborn baby to the number of miles between neighboring towns. Whether inches or miles, centimeters or kilometers, measures of distance stand at the very foundation of everything we do, so much so that we take them for granted. Yet, this has not always been the case. This book reaches back to medieval Italy to speak of a time when measurements were displayed in the open, showing how such a deceptively simple innovation triggered a chain of cultural transformations whose consequences are visible today on a global scale. Drawing from literary works and frescoes, architectural surveys, and legal compilations, Emanuele Lugli offers a history of material practices widely overlooked by historians. He argues that the public display of measurements in Italy’s newly formed city republics not only laid the foundation for now centuries-old practices of making, but also helped to legitimize local governments and shore up church power, buttressing fantasies of exactitude and certainty that linger to this day. This ambitious, truly interdisciplinary book explains how measurements, rather than being mere descriptors of the real, themselves work as powerful molds of ideas, affecting our notions of what we consider similar, accurate, and truthful.

Unlike most metrological systems throughout W. Europe, the Italian developed during the Middle Ages (MA) & Early Modern era without any ref. to a commonly accepted set of nat.-ethnic standards. Italy, with its many kingdoms, duchies, communes, etc., was never able to attain any level of metrological standardization outside the confines of severely restricted, small, independent, political jurisdictions. Not until unification in 1871, were Italian weights & measures (W&M) given a totally nat. character. And it was the metric system, & not a conglomerate of units from the old, that finally accomplished the task. This book presents a quantitative compilation, synthesis, & analysis of the principal pre-metric W&M employed throughout Italy & in those areas controlled or influenced by Italy from the Later MA to the age of metrication in the later 19th cent. Tables.

Zupco presents the legacies of the Middle Ages to the pioneering reformers of the Scientific Revolution; the monumental impact of math, physics, chemistry, astronomy, & technology on modern metrology; the creations, struggles, & successes of the Metric System; & the intense battles between metrics & customary metrologies that have waged since the end of the 18th cent. Includes insights into the personalities involved in metrological events: scientists, technologists, bureaucrats, ministers, members of scientific soc., & shows the impact of scientific experimentation & social revolutions. Includes a comprehensive biblio. of European metrology & the sources relevant to the underpinnings for this period in weights & measures history. Illus.

Although Leonardo’s Giant Crossbow is one of his most popular drawings, it has been one of the least understood. "Leonardo’s Giant Crossbow" offers the first in-depth account of this drawing’s likely purpose and its highly resolved design. This fascinating book has a wealth of technical information about the Giant Crossbow drawing, as it’s a complete study of this project, though this is as accessible to the general audience as much as it is also informative with new discoveries for the professors of engineering, technology and art. The book explores the context of Leonardo’s invention with an examination of the extensive documentary evidence, a short history of the great crossbow and ballista, the first accurate translation of the text and the technical specifications, and a detailed analysis of Leonardo’s design process for the crossbow, from start to finish. Dozens of preparatory drawings, along with the recent discovery of nearly invisible metal stylus preparatory incisions under the ink of the Giant Crossbow drawing, are evidence of Leonardo’s intent to offer engineers and other viewers a thorough design of the massive machine. The book proposes these new discoveries with the help of a strategy that had been at the core of Leonardo’s working philosophy: the proportional method. As proven with an analysis of the Giant Crossbow project, he used a consistent approach to 1/3rd proportions throughout the design and drawing process and employed this kind of proportional strategy at the start of almost every important project. Thanks to this proof of his knowledge of geometry, evidence of his studies of impetus and force, and thanks to the highly polished and complex nature of the Giant Crossbow design, a later date for the drawing is proposed in the present book, associating the drawing with his drafting capabilities around 1490-93.