Page 75 - Translation Journal July 2015
P. 75
. The proposal
The proposed strategy for the translation of the eighteenth-century Italian literature, specifically related to the themes of statics and
mechanics applied to architecture, consists of the following phases:
- selection of the work to be translated, according to two factors: relevance and authority of the author, in the context of European
science of the eighteenth century, and also the importance and critical success of the selected text;
- elaboration of a synopsis of the selected text in Italian; since the text is extremely complex, voluminous and rich in technical
drawings, a literal translation of the text itself would not be feasible. The synopsis also facilitates the submission of the text to an
Anglophone scientific audience who is far removed from Italian eighteenth century culture;
- translation of the synopsis from Italian into English, using a coherent technical language nowadays used by the English scientific
community in the issue of statics and mechanics applied to architecture. In this regard, it is worth noting that the authors of such
treatises in the eighteenth century were mostly physicists, chemists and architects; nowadays these are mainly engineers, hence
further lexical difficulties arise.
The synopsis is accompanied by other instruments of innovative character in the panorama of English translation of Italian
technical works, including:
- elaboration of a list of bibliographic sources quoted by the author in the text itself;
- drawing of a vocabulary of technical terms used by the author and organised into four themes: a. the term in eighteenth century
Italian; b. the corresponding term in modern Italian; c. the term in eighteenth century
English; d. the corresponding term in modern English.
3. The case study
3.a. Giovanni Poleni’s biodata
The experimental application of the research is related to the choice of this strategy applied to Historic Memories about the
Great Dome of the Vatican Church of Giovanni Poleni, (Venice, 1685-Padua, 1761), who is one of the most authoritative Italian scholars
of the eighteenth century in Europe (Figure 1). His training and activity as scholar make him an eclectic Illuminist, with a holistic interest
in the world of experimental sciences. After his early studies in philosophy and theology in Venice he devoted himself to the study of
mathematics and physics, the results of which were collated in a book, printed in 1709, Miscellanea. De barometris et thermometris,
de machina quadam arithmetica, de sectionibus conicis in horologiis solaribus, that earned him Isaac Newton’s (1642-1727) support
to become a member of the Royal Society of London and the Chair of Astronomy and Meteorology at Padua University. He proposed
unedited variants of differential and integral calculus, gaining Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz’s (1646-1716) interest and support of his
election as a member of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, resulting Poleni’s accreditation in the European context.
Ten years later, he occupied the Chair of Mathematics in Venice, and had set up a first informal experimental laboratory for applied
physics and engineering. The Venetian Republic commissioned him to study the complicated issue of irrigation and flood risk of
the Adda River; he collated the results of the related experiments in a treatise, published in 1717, De motu aquae mixto libri
duo, that earned him further distinction in the European scientific community. In 1738, at the University of Padua, Poleni founded
the first official Italian experimental physics laboratory called “Theatre of Experimental Philosophy” for astronomical observation and
experimental tests, which led him in 1739 to the nomination as a member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris. In 1741, he published the
results of ten years of observations and experience in a book, Institutionum philosophiae mechanicae specimen, that obtained a great
critical acclaim. In these years, Poleni intensified his study of applied sciences regarding the art of building studying Vitruvius’s treatise
and in 1737, he published Utriusque thesauri antiquitatum romanarum graecarumque nova supplementa and in 1739, Exercitationes
Vitruvianae primae X.
These works led to him receiving, from Pope Benedict XlV in 1743, the assignment to study the structure of the Dome of St. Peter’s in
the Vatican, in order to evaluate its structural vulnerability and to define the restoration works required. In 1748, he published the results
of this research, Historic Memories about The Great Dome, which still represents a fundamental text on the scientific method
applied to structural restoration and constitutes one of the most relevant and authoritative methodological reference for the science
of structural restoration (Gennari, 1839).
3.b. The content of the Poleni’s Historic Memories about the Great Dome of the Vatican Church
The Historic Memories (Figures 2-4) is a fundamental Essay on structural restoration; in this book Poleni
describes the restoration works of the Dome in the Vatican Church, the most important and one of the largest
Christian Churches. The Vatican Dome, designed and partially built by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), is one of the most
significant monuments of architectural history and even today constitutes an unmatched typological reference. The Historic Memories
proposes and describes an innovative introduction and coding of the scientific method in the discipline of restoration, as a process
of anamnesis (description of the current conditions; history of the building), diagnosis (analysis of materials, including experimental
tests, understanding of the technical constructive aspects) and prognosis (design and execution of the restorations, with subsequent
verification of their effectiveness) (Benvenuto, 1991).
Translation Journal - July 2015 | 75
The proposed strategy for the translation of the eighteenth-century Italian literature, specifically related to the themes of statics and
mechanics applied to architecture, consists of the following phases:
- selection of the work to be translated, according to two factors: relevance and authority of the author, in the context of European
science of the eighteenth century, and also the importance and critical success of the selected text;
- elaboration of a synopsis of the selected text in Italian; since the text is extremely complex, voluminous and rich in technical
drawings, a literal translation of the text itself would not be feasible. The synopsis also facilitates the submission of the text to an
Anglophone scientific audience who is far removed from Italian eighteenth century culture;
- translation of the synopsis from Italian into English, using a coherent technical language nowadays used by the English scientific
community in the issue of statics and mechanics applied to architecture. In this regard, it is worth noting that the authors of such
treatises in the eighteenth century were mostly physicists, chemists and architects; nowadays these are mainly engineers, hence
further lexical difficulties arise.
The synopsis is accompanied by other instruments of innovative character in the panorama of English translation of Italian
technical works, including:
- elaboration of a list of bibliographic sources quoted by the author in the text itself;
- drawing of a vocabulary of technical terms used by the author and organised into four themes: a. the term in eighteenth century
Italian; b. the corresponding term in modern Italian; c. the term in eighteenth century
English; d. the corresponding term in modern English.
3. The case study
3.a. Giovanni Poleni’s biodata
The experimental application of the research is related to the choice of this strategy applied to Historic Memories about the
Great Dome of the Vatican Church of Giovanni Poleni, (Venice, 1685-Padua, 1761), who is one of the most authoritative Italian scholars
of the eighteenth century in Europe (Figure 1). His training and activity as scholar make him an eclectic Illuminist, with a holistic interest
in the world of experimental sciences. After his early studies in philosophy and theology in Venice he devoted himself to the study of
mathematics and physics, the results of which were collated in a book, printed in 1709, Miscellanea. De barometris et thermometris,
de machina quadam arithmetica, de sectionibus conicis in horologiis solaribus, that earned him Isaac Newton’s (1642-1727) support
to become a member of the Royal Society of London and the Chair of Astronomy and Meteorology at Padua University. He proposed
unedited variants of differential and integral calculus, gaining Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz’s (1646-1716) interest and support of his
election as a member of the Academy of Sciences of Berlin, resulting Poleni’s accreditation in the European context.
Ten years later, he occupied the Chair of Mathematics in Venice, and had set up a first informal experimental laboratory for applied
physics and engineering. The Venetian Republic commissioned him to study the complicated issue of irrigation and flood risk of
the Adda River; he collated the results of the related experiments in a treatise, published in 1717, De motu aquae mixto libri
duo, that earned him further distinction in the European scientific community. In 1738, at the University of Padua, Poleni founded
the first official Italian experimental physics laboratory called “Theatre of Experimental Philosophy” for astronomical observation and
experimental tests, which led him in 1739 to the nomination as a member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris. In 1741, he published the
results of ten years of observations and experience in a book, Institutionum philosophiae mechanicae specimen, that obtained a great
critical acclaim. In these years, Poleni intensified his study of applied sciences regarding the art of building studying Vitruvius’s treatise
and in 1737, he published Utriusque thesauri antiquitatum romanarum graecarumque nova supplementa and in 1739, Exercitationes
Vitruvianae primae X.
These works led to him receiving, from Pope Benedict XlV in 1743, the assignment to study the structure of the Dome of St. Peter’s in
the Vatican, in order to evaluate its structural vulnerability and to define the restoration works required. In 1748, he published the results
of this research, Historic Memories about The Great Dome, which still represents a fundamental text on the scientific method
applied to structural restoration and constitutes one of the most relevant and authoritative methodological reference for the science
of structural restoration (Gennari, 1839).
3.b. The content of the Poleni’s Historic Memories about the Great Dome of the Vatican Church
The Historic Memories (Figures 2-4) is a fundamental Essay on structural restoration; in this book Poleni
describes the restoration works of the Dome in the Vatican Church, the most important and one of the largest
Christian Churches. The Vatican Dome, designed and partially built by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), is one of the most
significant monuments of architectural history and even today constitutes an unmatched typological reference. The Historic Memories
proposes and describes an innovative introduction and coding of the scientific method in the discipline of restoration, as a process
of anamnesis (description of the current conditions; history of the building), diagnosis (analysis of materials, including experimental
tests, understanding of the technical constructive aspects) and prognosis (design and execution of the restorations, with subsequent
verification of their effectiveness) (Benvenuto, 1991).
Translation Journal - July 2015 | 75
