Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (in English Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream, from Greek hypnos, ‘sleep’, eros, ‘love’, and mache, ‘fight’) is a romance by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing. First published in Venice by Aldus Manutius in 1499, in an elegant page layout, with refined woodcut illustrations in an Early Renaissance style, Hypnerotomachia Poliphili presents a mysterious arcane allegory in which Poliphilo pursues his love Polia through a dreamlike landscape, and is at last reconciled with her by the Fountain of Venus. The book is illustrated with 168 exquisite woodcuts showing the scenery, architectural settings, and some of the characters Poliphilo encounters in his dreams. This is a reproduction of 1499 First Edition.