Editing Leon Battista Alberti

{{Short description|Italian architect and author (1404-1472)}}
{{Infobox artist
| name             = Leon Battista Alberti
| image            = File:Leon Battista Alberti, Self-Portrait, c. 1435, NGA 43845.jpg
| alt              = 
| caption          = Presumed self-portrait of Alberti
| birth_name       = 
| birth_date       = 14 February 1404
| birth_place      = [[Genoa]], [[Republic of Genoa]]
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|df=y|1472|4|25|1404|2|14}}
| death_place      = Rome, [[Papal States]]
| nationality      = Italian
| field            = Architecture, [[linguistics]], poetry
| training         = 
| movement         = [[Italian Renaissance]]
| works            = [[Tempio Malatestiano]], [[Palazzo Rucellai]], [[Santa Maria Novella]], [[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua|Basilica of Sant'Andrea]]
}}

'''Leon Battista Alberti''' ({{IPA|it|leombatˈtista alˈbɛɾti|lang}}; 14 February 1404 – 25 April 1472) was an Italian [[Renaissance humanist]] author, artist, architect, poet, [[Catholic priest|priest]], [[linguistics|linguist]], philosopher, and [[cryptography|cryptographer]]; he epitomised the nature of those identified now as [[polymaths]]. He is considered the founder of European cryptography, a claim he shares with [[Johannes Trithemius]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Leeuw |first1=Karl Maria Michael de |last2=Bergstra |first2=Jan |title=The History of Information Security: A Comprehensive Handbook |date=28 August 2007 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-08-055058-9 |page=283 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pQBrsonDp6cC&pg=PA283 |access-date=20 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Holden |first1=Joshua |title=The Mathematics of Secrets: Cryptography from Caesar Ciphers to Digital Encryption |date=2 October 2018 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-18331-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3SYDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA56 |access-date=20 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

He is often considered primarily an architect. However, according to James Beck,<ref>James Beck, "Leon Battista Alberti and the 'Night Sky' at San Lorenzo", ''Artibus et Historiae'' '''10''', No. 19 (1989:9–35), p. 9.</ref> "to single out one of Leon Battista's 'fields' over others as somehow functionally independent and self-sufficient is of no help at all to any effort to characterize Alberti's extensive explorations in the fine arts". Although Alberti is known mostly as an artist, he was also a mathematician
and made significant contributions to that field.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Mathematical Works of Leon Battista Alberti |last=Williams |first=Kim|author1-link=Kim Williams (architect) |publisher=Birkhauser Verlag AG |date=August 27, 2010 |isbn=978-3-0346-0473-4 |pages=1 |via=Duke Libraries}}</ref>  Among the  most famous buildings he designed are the churches of San Sebastiano (1460) and Sant'Andrea (1472), both in [[Mantua]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Norwich|first=John Julius|title=Oxford Illustrated Encyclopedia Of The Arts|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|isbn=978-0198691372|location=USA|pages=11}}</ref>

Alberti's life was told in [[Giorgio Vasari]]'s ''[[Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects]]''.

==Biography==
===Early life===
[[File:Raising of the Son of Teophilus and St. Peter Enthroned 27.jpg|thumb|A portrait of Alberti by [[Filippino Lippi]] is thought to exist in the [[Brancacci Chapel]], as part of Lippi's completion of the [[Masaccio]] painting, the ''Raising of the Son of Theophilus and St. Peter Enthroned'']]
Leon Battista Alberti was born in 1404 in [[Genoa]]. His mother was Bianca Fieschi. His father, Lorenzo di Benedetto Alberti, was a wealthy Florentine who had been exiled from his own city, but allowed to return in 1428. Alberti was sent to boarding school in Padua, then studied law at [[Bologna]].<ref>Treccani encyclopedia, ''[https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/leon-battista-alberti_%28Dizionario-Biografico%29/ Leon Battista Alberti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401035356/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/leon-battista-alberti_(Dizionario-Biografico) |date=2022-04-01 }}''</ref><ref name=MS>Melissa Snell, ''[http://historymedren.about.com/od/awho/a/bio_alberti.htm Leon Battsta Alberti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906081613/http://historymedren.about.com/od/awho/a/bio_alberti.htm |date=2015-09-06 }}'', About.com: Medieval History.</ref> He lived for a time in [[Florence]], then in 1431 travelled to Rome, where he took [[Holy orders in the Catholic Church|holy orders]] and entered the service of the papal court.<ref name=IL/> During this time he studied the [[Ancient Roman architecture|ancient ruins]], which excited his interest in architecture and strongly influenced the form of the buildings that he designed.<ref name=IL>''The Renaissance:a Illustrated Encyclopedia'', Octopus (1979) {{ISBN|0706408578}}</ref>

Leon Battista Alberti was gifted in many ways. He was tall, strong, and a fine athlete who could ride the wildest horse and jump over a person's head.<ref name="Renaissance Italy 1860"/> He distinguished himself as a writer while still a child at school, and by the age of twenty had written a play that was successfully passed off as a genuine piece of Classical literature.<ref name=MS/> In 1435 he began his first major written work, ''[[De Pictura|Della pittura]]'', which was inspired by the burgeoning pictorial art in Florence in the early fifteenth century. In this work he analysed the nature of painting and explored the elements of perspective, composition, and colour.<ref name=IL/>

In 1438 he began to focus more on architecture and was encouraged by the Marchese [[Leonello d'Este]] of Ferrara, for whom he built a small [[triumphal arch]] to support an equestrian statue of Leonello's father.<ref name=MS/> In 1447 Alberti became architectural advisor to [[Pope Nicholas V]] and was involved in several projects at the [[Vatican City|Vatican]].<ref name=MS/>

===First major commission===
His first major architectural commission was in 1446 for the façade of the [[Rucellai Palace]] in Florence. This was followed in 1450 by a commission from [[Sigismondo Malatesta]] to transform the [[Gothic church]] of San Francesco in [[Rimini]] into a memorial chapel, the [[Tempio Malatestiano]].<ref name=IL/> In Florence, he designed the upper parts of the façade for the Dominican church of [[Santa Maria Novella]], famously bridging the nave and lower aisles with two ornately inlaid scrolls, solving a visual problem and setting a precedent to be followed by architects of churches for four hundred years.<ref name=AD49>Joseph Rykwert, ed., ''Leon Baptiste Alberti'', Architectul Design, Vol 49 No 5-6, London</ref> In 1452, he completed  {{Lang|la|[[De re aedificatoria]]}}, a treatise on architecture, using as its basis the work of [[Vitruvius]] and influenced by the ancient roman buildings. The work was not published until 1485. It was followed in 1464 by his less influential work, ''De statua'', in which he examines sculpture.<ref name=IL/> Alberti's only known sculpture is a self-portrait medallion, sometimes attributed to [[Pisanello]].
[[File:Via della Vigna Nuova 18, palazzo rucellai, 02,0.jpg|thumb|right|[[Palazzo Rucellai]]]]
Alberti was employed to design two churches in [[Mantua]], [[San Sebastiano (Mantua)|San Sebastiano]], which was never completed and for which Alberti's intention can only be speculated upon, and the [[Basilica of Sant'Andrea, Mantua|Basilica of Sant'Andrea]]. The design for the latter church was completed in 1471, a year before Alberti's death: the construction was completed after his death and is considered as his most significant work.<ref name=AD49/>

===Alberti as artist===
As an artist, Alberti distinguished himself from the contemporary ordinary craftsmen educated in workshops. He was a [[humanism|humanist]] who studied [[Aristotle]] and [[Plotinus]]. He was among the rapidly growing group of intellectuals and artists who at that time were supported by the courts of nobility. As a member of a noble family and as part of the Roman [[curia]], Alberti enjoyed special status. He was a welcomed guest at the [[House of Este|Este]] court in [[Ferrara]], and spent time with the [[condottieri|soldier-prince]] [[Federico III da Montefeltro]] in Urbino. The [[Duke of Urbino]] was a shrewd military commander, who generously funded artists. Alberti planned to dedicate his [[treatise]] on architecture to him.<ref name="Renaissance Italy 1860"/>

Among Alberti's minor but pioneering studies, were an essay on [[cryptography]], ''[[Alberti cipher|De componendis cifris]]'', and the first Italian [[grammar]]. He collaborated with the Florentine cosmographer [[Paolo Toscanelli]] in astronomy, a science close  to geography at that time. He also wrote a small Latin work on geography, ''Descriptio urbis Romae'' (''The Panorama of the City of Rome''). Just a few years before his death, Alberti completed ''De iciarchia'' (''On Ruling the Household''), a dialogue about Florence during the [[Medici]] rule.

Alberti took holy orders and  never married. He loved animals and had a pet dog, a mongrel, about whom he wrote a [[panegyric]] (''Canis'').<ref name="Renaissance Italy 1860"/> Vasari describes Alberti as "an admirable citizen, a man of culture... a friend of talented men, open and courteous with everyone. He always lived honourably and like the gentleman he was."<ref name=Vasari>Vasari, ''The Lives of the Artists''</ref> Alberti died in Rome on 25 April 1472 at the age of 68.

==Publications==
{{further|Mathematics and architecture}}
Alberti considered mathematics as the foundation  of arts and sciences. "To make clear my exposition in writing this brief commentary on painting," Alberti began his treatise, ''Della Pittura'' (On Painting) dedicated to Brunelleschi, "I will take first from the mathematicians those things with which my subject is concerned."<ref>Leone Battista Alberti, On Painting, editor John Richard Spencer, 1956, p. 43.</ref>

''Della pittura'' (also known in Latin as ''[[De Pictura]]'') relied on the study classical [[optics]] to approach the  [[Perspective (graphical)|perspective]] in artistic and architectural representations.  Alberti was well-versed in the sciences of his age. His knowledge of [[optics]] was connected to the tradition of the ''Kitab al-manazir'' (''The Optics''; ''De aspectibus'') of the Arab polymath [[Alhazen]] ([[Ibn al-Haytham]], d. {{Circa|1041}}), which was transmitted by Franciscan optical workshops of the thirteenth-century ''Perspectivae'' traditions of scholars such as [[Roger Bacon]], [[John Peckham]], and [[Witelo]] (similar influences are also traceable in the third commentary of [[Lorenzo Ghiberti]], ''Commentario terzo'').<ref>[[Nader El-Bizri]], "A Philosophical Perspective on [[Alhazen]]’s [[Optics]]", ''Arabic Sciences and Philosophy'', vol. 15, issue 2 (2005), pp. 189–218 ([[Cambridge University Press]]).</ref>
[[File:The Archtitecture of Leon Battista Alberti title page.jpg|thumb|English title page of the first edition of Giacomo Leoni's translation of Alberti's ''De Re Aedificatoria'' (1452) - the book is bilingual, with the Italian version being printed on the left and the English version printed on the right]]
In both ''Della pittura'' and ''De statua'', Alberti stressed that "all steps of learning should be sought from nature".<ref name=kirjasto>{{cite web|url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/alberti.htm |title=Leon Battista Alberti |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150210175324/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/alberti.htm |archive-date=February 10, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ultimate aim of an artist is to imitate nature. Painters and sculptors strive "through by different skills, at the same goal, namely that as nearly as possible the work they have undertaken shall appear to the observer to be similar to the real objects of nature".<ref name=kirjasto/> However, Alberti did not mean that artists should imitate nature objectively, as it is, but the artist should be especially attentive to beauty, "for in painting beauty is as pleasing as it is necessary".<ref name=kirjasto/> The work of art is, according to Alberti, so constructed that it is impossible to take anything away from it or to add anything to it, without impairing the beauty of the whole. Beauty was for Alberti "the harmony of all parts in relation to one another," and subsequently "this concord is realized in a particular number, proportion, and arrangement demanded by harmony". Alberti's thoughts on harmony were not new—they could be traced back to Pythagoras—but he set them in a fresh context, which fit in well with the contemporary aesthetic discourse.

In Rome, Alberti spent considerable time studying its ancient sites, ruins, and arts. His detailed observations, included in his {{lang|la|[[De re aedificatoria]]}} (1452, ''On the Art of Building''),<ref name=DeRe>Alberti, Leon Battista. On ''the Art of Building in Ten Books''. Trans. Leach, N., Rykwert, J., & Tavenor, R. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1988</ref> were inspired by the essay ''De architectura'' written by the Roman architect and engineer [[Vitruvius]] ([[floruit|fl.]] 46–30 BC). Alberti's work was the first architectural treatise of the Renaissance. It covered a wide range of subjects, from history to town planning, from engineering to the [[aesthetics]]. {{lang|la|De re aedificatoria}}, a large and expensive book, was not published until 1485, after which it became a major reference for architects.<ref>Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc., [http://www.palladiancenter.org/predecessors.html Palladio's Literary Predecessors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217055656/http://www.palladiancenter.org/predecessors.html |date=2018-12-17 }}</ref> However, the book was written "not only for craftsmen but also for anyone interested in the noble arts", as Alberti put it.<ref name=DeRe/> Originally published in Latin, the first Italian edition came out in 1546. and the standard Italian edition by [[Cosimo Bartoli]] was published in 1550. Pope [[Nicholas V]], to whom Alberti dedicated the whole work, dreamed of rebuilding the city of Rome, but he managed to realize only a fragment of his visionary plans. Through his book, Alberti opened up his theories and ideals of the Florentine Renaissance to architects, scholars, and others.

Alberti wrote ''I Libri della famiglia''—which discussed education, marriage, household management, and money—in the Tuscan dialect. The work was not printed until 1843. Like [[Erasmus]] decades later, Alberti stressed the need for a reform in education. He noted that "the care of very young children is women's work, for nurses or the mother", and that at the earliest possible age children should be taught the alphabet.<ref name=kirjasto/> With great hopes, he gave the work to his family to read, but in his autobiography Alberti confesses that "he could hardly avoid feeling rage, moreover, when he saw some of his relatives openly ridiculing both the whole work and the author's futile enterprise along it".<ref name=kirjasto/> ''Momus'', written between 1443 and 1450, was a notable comedy about the Olympian deities. It has been considered as a [[roman à clef]]—[[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] has been identified in some sources as Pope Eugenius IV and Pope Nicholas V. Alberti borrowed many of its characters from [[Lucian]], one of his favorite Greek writers. The name of its hero, Momus, refers to the Greek word for blame or criticism. After being expelled from heaven, [[Momus]], the god of mockery, is eventually castrated. Jupiter and the other deities come down to earth also, but they return to heaven after Jupiter breaks his nose in a great storm.

==Architectural works==
{{multiple image
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 | image1    = Sant Andrea straight.jpg
 | width1    = 170
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 | caption1  = The dramatic façade of Sant' Andrea, Mantua (1471) built to Alberti's design after his death
 | image2    = San Sebastiano (Mantua) straight.JPG
 | width2    = 188
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 | caption2  = The unfinished and altered façade of San Sebastiano has promoted much speculation as to Alberti's intentions.
 }}

Alberti did not concern himself with engineering, and very few of his major projects were built. As a designer and a student of Vitruvius and of ancient Roman architecture, he studied column and lintel based architecture, from a visual rather than structural viewpoint. He correctly employed the [[Classical orders]], unlike his contemporary, [[Brunelleschi]], who used the Classical column and pilaster in a free interpretation. Alberti reflected on the social effects of architecture, and was attentive to the urban landscape.<ref name=AD49/> This is demonstrated by his inclusion, at the Rucellai Palace, of a continuous bench for seating at the level of the basement. Alberti anticipated the principle of street hierarchy, with wide main streets connected to secondary streets, and buildings of equal height.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of the City|last=Caves|first=R. W.|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|pages=12}}</ref>

In Rome he was employed by [[Pope Nicholas V]] for the restoration of the [[Roman aqueduct]] of [[Acqua Vergine]], which [[debouch]]ed into a simple basin designed by Alberti, which was later replaced by the Baroque [[Trevi Fountain]].

Some researchers<ref>D. Mazzini, S. Simone, ''Villa Medici a Fiesole. Leon Battista Alberti e il prototipo di villa rinascimentale'', Centro Di, Firenze 2004</ref> suggested that the [[Villa Medici in Fiesole]] might have been designed by Alberti, rather than by [[Michelozzo]]. This hilltop residence commissioned by [[Giovanni di Cosimo de' Medici|Giovanni de' Medici]], [[Cosimo il Vecchio]]'s second son, with its view over the city, is sometimes considered the first example of a Renaissance villa: it reflects the writing by Alberti about country residential buildings as "villa suburbana". The building later inspired numerous other similar projects buildings from the end of the fifteenth century.

===Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini===
The [[Tempio Malatestiano]] in [[Rimini]] (1447, 1453–60)<ref name=Borsi>[[Franco Borsi]]. ''Leon Battista Alberti''. New York: Harper & Row, (1977)</ref> is the rebuilding of a Gothic church. The façade, with its dynamic play of forms, was left incomplete.<ref name=AD49/>

===Façade of Palazzo Rucellai===
The design of the façade of the [[Palazzo Rucellai]] (1446–51) was one of several commissioned by  the Rucellai family.<ref name=Borsi/> The design overlays a grid of shallow pilasters and cornices in classical style onto rusticated masonry, and is surmounted by a heavy cornice. The inner courtyard has [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] columns. The palace introduced set the use of classical building elements in civic buildings in Florence, and became very influential. The work was executed by [[Bernardo Rossellino]].<ref name=AD49/>

{{multiple image
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 | image1    = Tempio malatestiano, esterno 04.JPG
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 | caption1  = Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini
 | image2    = Santa Maria Novella.jpg
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 | caption2  = The polychrome façade of [[Santa Maria Novella]]
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===Santa Maria Novella===
At [[Santa Maria Novella]], Florence, between (1448–70)<ref name=Borsi/> the upper façade was constructed to the design of Alberti. It was a challenging task, as the lower level already had three doorways and six [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] niches containing tombs and employing the polychrome marble typical of Florentine churches, such as [[San Miniato al Monte]] and the [[Baptistery of Florence]]. The design also incorporates an [[rose window|ocular window]] that was already in place. Alberti introduced Classical features around the portico and spread the polychromy over the entire façade in a manner that includes Classical proportions and elements such as pilasters, cornices, and a pediment in the Classical style, ornamented with a sunburst in tesserae, rather than sculpture. The best known feature of this typically aisled church is the manner in which Alberti has solved the problem of visually bridging the different levels of the central nave and much lower side aisles. He employed two large scrolls, which were to become a standard feature of church façades in the later Renaissance, Baroque, and [[Neoclassical architecture|Classical Revival]] buildings.<ref name=AD49/>

===Pienza===
[[File:Pienza Piazza Pio II.JPG|thumb|upright= 1.5|Piazza Pio II in Pienza, looking toward the Palazzo Piccolomini]]
Alberti is considered to have been the consultant for the design of the Piazza Pio II, [[Pienza]]. The village, previously called Corsignano, was redesigned beginning around 1459.<ref name=Borsi/> It was the birthplace of Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, [[Pope Pius II]], in whose employ Alberti served. Pius II wanted to use the village as a retreat, but needed for it to reflect the dignity of his position.

The piazza is a [[trapezoid]] shape defined by four buildings, with a focus on Pienza Cathedral and passages on either side opening onto a landscape view. The principal residence, ''Palazzo Piccolomini'', is on the western side. It has three stories, articulated by pilasters and entablature courses, with a twin-lighted [[cross window]] set within each bay. This structure is similar to Alberti's [[Palazzo Rucellai]] in Florence and other later palaces. Noteworthy is the internal court of the palazzo. The back of the palace, to the south, is defined by [[loggia]] on all three floors that overlook an enclosed [[Italian Renaissance garden]] with ''[[Giardino all'italiana]]'' era modifications, and spectacular views into the distant landscape of the [[Val d'Orcia]] and Pope Pius's beloved Mount Amiata beyond. Below this garden is a vaulted stable that had stalls for a hundred horses. The design, which radically transformed the center of the town, included a palace for the pope, a church, a town hall, and a building for the bishops who would accompany the Pope on his trips. Pienza is considered an early example of Renaissance urban planning.

===Sant' Andrea, Mantua===
The [[Basilica di Sant'Andrea di Mantova|Basilica of Sant'Andrea]], [[Mantua]] was begun in 1471,<ref name=Borsi/> the year before Alberti's death. It was brought to completion and is his most significant work employing the [[triumphal arch]] motif, both for its façade and interior, and influencing many works that were to follow.<ref name= AD49/> Alberti perceived the role of architect as designer. Unlike [[Brunelleschi]], he had no interest in the construction, leaving the practicalities to builders and the oversight to others.<ref name= AD49/>

===Other buildings===
* [[San Sebastiano (Mantua)|San Sebastiano]], Mantua, (begun 1458)<ref name=Borsi/> the unfinished façade of which has promoted much speculation as to Alberti's intention<ref name=AD49/>
* Sepolcro Rucellai in [[San Pancrazio (Florence)|San Pancrazio]], 1467)<ref name=Borsi/>
* The Tribune for [[Basilica della Santissima Annunziata di Firenze|Santissima Annunziata]], Florence (1470, completed with alterations, 1477)<ref name=Borsi/>

==Painting==
[[Giorgio Vasari]], who argued that historical progress in art reached its peak in [[Michelangelo]], emphasized Alberti's scholarly achievements, not his artistic talents: "He spent his time finding out about the world and studying the proportions of antiquities; but above all, following his natural genius, he concentrated on writing rather than on applied work."<ref name=Vasari/> In ''On Painting'', Alberti uses the expression "We Painters", but as a painter, or sculptor, he was a dilettante. "In painting Alberti achieved nothing of any great importance or beauty", wrote Vasari.<ref name="Vasari" /> "The very few paintings of his that are extant are far from perfect, but this is not surprising since he devoted himself more to his studies than to draughtsmanship." [[Jacob Burckhardt]] portrayed Alberti in ''The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy'' as a truly universal genius. "And Leonardo Da Vinci was to Alberti as the finisher to the beginner, as the master to the dilettante. Would only that Vasari's work were here supplemented by a description like that of Alberti! The colossal outlines of Leonardo's nature can never be more than dimly and distantly conceived."<ref name="Renaissance Italy 1860">Jacob Burckhardt in [[s:The Civilization of the Renaissance in Italy#Personality|''The Civilization of the Renaissance Italy'', 2.1]], 1860.</ref>

Alberti is said to appear in Mantegna's great frescoes in the [[Camera degli Sposi]], as the older man dressed in dark red clothes, who whispers in the ear of [[Ludovico III Gonzaga|Ludovico Gonzaga]], the ruler of Mantua.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johnson|first=Eugene J.|date=1975|title=A Portrait of Leon Battista Alberti in the Camera degli Sposi?|journal=Arte Lombarda, Nuova Serie|volume=42/43|issue=42/43|pages=67–69|jstor=43104980}}</ref> In Alberti's self-portrait, a large [[plaquette]], he is clothed as a Roman. To the left of his profile is a winged eye. On the reverse side is the question, ''Quid tum?'' (what then), taken from [[Virgil]]'s ''Eclogues'': "So what, if Amyntas is dark? (''quid tum si fuscus Amyntas?'') Violets are black, and hyacinths are black."<ref>Virgil, Bucolica, Chapter X.</ref>

==Contributions and cultural influence==
[[File:Tempio malatestiano, ri, facciata, capitello.JPG|thumb|Detail of the façade of [[Tempio Malatestiano]]]]
Alberti made a variety of contributions to several fields:
* Alberti was the creator of a theory called "historia". In his treatise ''[[De pictura]]'' (1435) he explains the theory of the accumulation of people, animals, and buildings, which create harmony amongst each other, and "hold the eye of the learned and unlearned spectator for a long while with a certain sense of pleasure and emotion". ''[[De pictura]]'' ("On Painting") contained the first scientific study of [[Perspective (graphical)|perspective]]. An Italian translation of ''De pictura'' (''Della pittura'') was published in 1436, one year after the original Latin version and addressed [[Filippo Brunelleschi]] in the preface. The Latin version had been dedicated to Alberti's humanist patron, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga of Mantua. He also wrote works on sculpture, ''[[:it:De statua|De statua]]''.
* Alberti used his artistic treatises to propound a new humanistic theory of art. He drew on his contacts with early Quattrocento artists such as Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Ghiberti to provide a practical handbook for the renaissance artist.
* Alberti wrote an influential work on architecture, {{lang|la|[[De re aedificatoria]]}}, which by the sixteenth century had been translated into Italian (by Cosimo Bartoli), French, Spanish, and English. An English translation was by [[Giacomo Leoni]] in the early eighteenth century. Newer translations are now available.
* Whilst Alberti's treatises on painting and architecture have been hailed as the founding texts of a new form of art, breaking from the Gothic past, it is impossible to know the extent of their practical impact during his lifetime. His praise of the ''Calumny of Apelles'' led to several attempts to emulate it, including paintings by Botticelli and Signorelli. His stylistic ideals have been put into practice in the works of [[Andrea Mantegna|Mantegna]], [[Piero della Francesca]], and [[Fra Angelico]]. But how far Alberti was responsible for these innovations and how far he was simply articulating the trends of the artistic movement, with which his practical experience had made him familiar, is impossible to ascertain.
* He was so a skilled composer of [[Latin]] verse:  a comedy he wrote when twenty years old, entitled ''Philodoxius'', would later deceive the younger [[Aldus Manutius]], who edited and published it as the genuine work of 'Lepidus Comicus'.

[[File:Toscana24te.jpg|thumb|The upper storey of [[Santa Maria Novella]]]]
[[File:Santa Maria Novella (Florence) - 0851.jpg|thumb|One of the giant scrolls at Santa Maria Novella]]
* He has been credited with being the author, or alternatively, the designer of the [[woodcut]] illustrations, of the ''[[Hypnerotomachia Poliphili]]'', a strange [[fantasy]] novel.<ref>Liane Lefaivre, ''Leon Battista Alberti's Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'', Cambridge: MIT Press, 1997</ref>
* Apart from his treatises on the arts, Alberti also wrote: ''Philodoxus'' ("Lover of Glory", 1424), ''De commodis litterarum atque incommodis'' ("On the Advantages and Disadvantages of Literary Studies", 1429), ''Intercoenales'' ("Table Talk", c. 1429), ''Della famiglia'' ("On the Family", begun 1432), ''Vita S. Potiti'' ("Life of St. Potitus", 1433), ''De iure'' (On Law, 1437), ''Theogenius'' ("The Origin of the Gods", c. 1440), ''Profugorium ab aerumna'' ("Refuge from Mental Anguish",), ''Momus'' (1450), and ''De Iciarchia'' ("On the Prince", 1468). These and other works were translated and printed in Venice by the humanist [[Cosimo Bartoli]] in 1586.
* Alberti was an accomplished [[cryptography|cryptographer]] by the standard of his day and invented the first [[polyalphabetic cipher]], which is now known as the [[Alberti cipher]], and machine-assisted encryption using his [[Alberti Cipher Disk|Cipher Disk]]. The polyalphabetic cipher was, at least in principle (for it was not properly used for several hundred years) the most significant advance in cryptography since classical times. Cryptography historian [[David Kahn (writer)|David Kahn]] called him the "Father of Western Cryptography", pointing to three significant advances in the field that can be attributed to Alberti: "the earliest Western exposition of cryptanalysis, the invention of polyalphabetic substitution, and the invention of enciphered code".{{cite book |author=David Kahn |title=The codebreakers: the story of secret writing |url=https://archive.org/details/codebreakerssto00kahn |url-access=registration |publisher=MacMillan |location=New York |year=1967}}
* According to Alberti, in a short autobiography written c. 1438 in Latin and in the third person, (many but not all scholars consider this work to be an autobiography) he was capable of "standing with his feet together, and springing over a man's head." The autobiography survives thanks to an eighteenth-century transcription by [[Antonio Muratori]]. Alberti also claimed that he "excelled in all bodily exercises; could, with feet tied, leap over a standing man; could in the great cathedral, throw a coin far up to ring against the vault; amused himself by taming wild horses and climbing mountains". Needless to say, many in the Renaissance promoted themselves in various ways and Alberti's eagerness to promote his skills should be understood, to some extent, within that framework. 
* Alberti claimed in his "autobiography" to be an accomplished musician and organist, but there is no hard evidence to support this claim. In fact, musical posers were not uncommon in his day (see the lyrics to the song ''Musica Son'', by Francesco Landini, for complaints to this effect.) He held the appointment of canon in the metropolitan [[Roman Catholic Church|church]] of [[Florence]], and thus – perhaps – had the leisure to devote himself to this art, but this is only speculation. Vasari also agreed with this.<ref name=Vasari/>
* He was interested in the drawing of [[map]]s and worked with the [[astronomer]], astrologer, and [[cartographer]] [[Paolo Toscanelli]].
* In the domain of Aesthetics Alberti is recognized for his definition of art as imitation of nature, exactly as a selection of its most beautiful parts: "So let's take from nature what we are going to paint, and from nature we choose the most beautiful and worthy things".<ref>De Pictura, book III: Ergo semper quae picturi sumus, ea a natura sumamus, semperque ex his quaeque pulcherrima et dignissima deligamus.</ref>
* Borsi states that Alberti's writings on architecture continue to influence modern and contemporary architecture stating: "The organicism and nature-worship of Wright, the neat classicism of van der Mies, the regulatory outlines and anthropomorphic, harmonic, modular systems of Le Corbusier, and Kahn's revival of the 'antique' are all elements that tempt one to trace Alberti's influence on modern architecture."<ref>Brosi, p. 254</ref>

==Works in print==
[[File:Palazzo rucellai, ordine architettonico secondo piano.JPG|thumb|A window of the Rucellai Palace]]
* ''[[De Pictura]]'', 1435. ''On Painting'', in English, ''De Pictura'', in Latin, {{cite book|title=On Painting|publisher=Penguin Classics|year=1972|isbn=978-0-14-043331-9}}; ''Della Pittura'', in Italian (1804 [1434]).
* ''Momus,'' Latin text and English translation, 2003 {{ISBN|0-674-00754-9}}
* ''De re aedificatoria'' (1452, Ten Books on Architecture). Alberti, Leon Battista. De re aedificatoria. On the art of building in ten books. (translated by Joseph Rykwert, Robert Tavernor and Neil Leach). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988. {{ISBN|0-262-51060-X}}. {{ISBN|978-0-262-51060-8}}. [http://architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr/Traite/Auteur/Alberti.asp?param=en Latin, French and Italian editions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013659/http://architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr/Traite/Auteur/Alberti.asp?param=en |date=2016-03-05 }} and in [http://93.174.95.29/main/2337000/40d2623e3f6de2653824375370cf0915/%28Dover%20Architecture%29%20Leon%20Battista%20Alberti%20-%20The%20Ten%20Books%20of%20Architecture_%20The%201755%20Leoni%20Edition-Dover%20Puplications%20%281986%29.pdf English translation]{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.
* ''[[Alberti cipher|De Cifris]]'' A Treatise on Ciphers (1467), trans. A. Zaccagnini. Foreword by David Kahn, Galimberti, Torino 1997.
* {{cite book|title=Della tranquillitá dell'animo|year=1441}}
* "Leon Battista Alberti. On Painting. A New Translation and Critical Edition", Edited and Translated by [[Rocco Sinisgalli]], Cambridge University Press, New York, May 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-107-00062-9}}, ([https://books.google.com/books?id=K3bCI-yhadMC books.google.de] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230723080815/https://books.google.com/books?id=K3bCI-yhadMC |date=2023-07-23 }})
* ''I libri della famiglia'', Italian edition<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gNmEAAAAIAAJ&q=intitle:I+intitle:libri+intitle:della+intitle:famiglia+inauthor:Alberti | title=I libri della famiglia| last1=Alberti| first1=Leon Battista| year=1908}}</ref>
* "Dinner pieces". A Translation of the ''Intercenales'' by David Marsh. Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, State University of New York, Binghamton 1987.
* "Descriptio urbis Romae. Leon Battista Alberti's Delineation of the city of Rome". Peter Hicks, Arizona Board of Regents for Arizona State university 2007.

* (LA) Leon Battista Alberti, De re aedificatoria, Argentorati, excudebat M. Iacobus Cammerlander Moguntinus, 1541.
* (LA) Leon Battista Alberti, De re aedificatoria, Florentiae, accuratissime impressum opera magistri Nicolai Laurentii Alamani.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Opere volgari. 1, Firenze, Tipografia Galileiana, 1843.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Opere volgari. 2, Firenze, Tipografia Galileiana, 1844.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Opere volgari. 4, Firenze, Tipografia Galileiana, 1847.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Opere volgari. 5, Firenze, Tipografia Galileiana, 1849.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Opere, Florentiae, J. C. Sansoni, 1890.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Trattati d'arte, Bari, Laterza, 1973.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Ippolito e Leonora, Firenze, Bartolomeo de' Libri, prima del 1495.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Ecatonfilea, Stampata in Venesia, per Bernardino da Cremona, 1491.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Deifira, Padova, Lorenzo Canozio, 1471.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Teogenio, Milano, Leonard Pachel, circa 1492.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Libri della famiglia, Bari, G. Laterza, 1960.
* Leon Battista Alberti, Rime e trattati morali, Bari, Laterza, 1966.
* Franco Borsi, Leon Battista Alberti: Opera completa, Electa, Milano, 1973;

==In popular culture==
* Leon Battista Alberti is a major character in [[Roberto Rossellini]]'s three-part television film ''[[The Age of the Medici]]'' (1973), with the third and final part, ''Leon Battista Alberti: Humanism'', centering on him, his works (such as [[Santa Maria Novella]]), and his thought. He is played by Italian actor Virginio Gazzolo.<ref>The Criterion Collection, [https://www.criterion.com/films/1025-the-age-of-the-medici The Age of the Medici (1973) | The Criterion Collection] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418134701/https://www.criterion.com/films/1025-the-age-of-the-medici |date=2022-04-18 }}</ref>
* Mentioned in the 1994 film ''[[Renaissance Man (film)|Renaissance Man]]''  or '''''Army Intelligence''''' starring [[Danny DeVito]].
* Mentioned in the 2004 book ''[[The Rule of Four]]'' by [[Ian Caldwell]] and [[Dustin Thomason]]
*Mentioned in the board game [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/299960/alma-mater Alma mater] in cards with special powers.

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
[https://www.academia.edu/11422331/BUILDING_CODES_IN_THE_ARCHITECTURAL_TREATISE_DE_RE_AEDIFICATORIA_] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418134721/https://www.academia.edu/11422331/BUILDING_CODES_IN_THE_ARCHITECTURAL_TREATISE_DE_RE_AEDIFICATORIA_ |date=2022-04-18 }} Magda Saura, "Building codes in the architectural treatise De re aedificatoria,"

[https://www.academia.edu/11422331/BUILDING_CODES_IN_THE_ARCHITECTURAL_TREATISE_DE_RE_AEDIFICATORIA_] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418134721/https://www.academia.edu/11422331/BUILDING_CODES_IN_THE_ARCHITECTURAL_TREATISE_DE_RE_AEDIFICATORIA_ |date=2022-04-18 }}     ''Third International Congress on Construction History'', Cottbus, May 2009.

[https://www.academia.edu/11422331/BUILDING_CODES_IN_THE_ARCHITECTURAL_TREATISE_DE_RE_AEDIFICATORIA_] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418134721/https://www.academia.edu/11422331/BUILDING_CODES_IN_THE_ARCHITECTURAL_TREATISE_DE_RE_AEDIFICATORIA_ |date=2022-04-18 }}     {{hdl|2117/14252}}

* F. Canali e V. C. Galati, V. Galati, ''Leon Battista Alberti a Napoli e nei baronati del Regno aragonese. Cultura, Archeologia, Architettura e città.'' Parte Prima, St''rStudi, Consulenze, Autopsie antiquarie e Giudizi tecnici (in Apulia, Campania, Latium, Lucania, Marsica, Picenum e Sicilia)'', in ''Memorabilia tra natura e geometria. Il Culto del Passato dalla Inventio alla Reinterpretazione,'' cura di F. Canali «Bollettino della Società di Studi Fiorentini», 30-31, 2021-2022, pp. 426-483.
* F. Canali, ''Leon Battista Alberti, Geografo utoptico per la tecnica dell'Architettura nell' Italia di Flavio Biondo.'' in ''Memorabilia tra natura e geometria. Il Culto del Passato dalla Inventio alla Reinterpretazione,'' cura di F. Canali «Bollettino della Società di Studi Fiorentini», 30-31, 2021-2022, pp. 314-425.

==Further reading==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* Albertiana, Rivista della Société Intérnationale Leon Battista Alberti, Firenze, Olschki, 1998 sgg.
* Clark, Kenneth.  "Leon Battista Alberti: a Renaissance Personality." ''History Today'' (July 1951) 1#7 pp 11–18 online
* [[Francesco Borsi]], ''Leon Battista Alberti. Das Gesamtwerk''. Stuttgart 1982
* Peter Eisenman, with Pier Vittorio Aureli, Mario Carpo and Daniel Sherer. ''Rewriting Alberti''. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA/London. 2025
* Günther Fischer, ''Leon Battista Alberti. Sein Leben und seine Architekturtheorie''. Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft Darmstadt 2012
* [https://www.jstor.org/stable/29544173 Fontana-Giusti, Korolija Gordana, "The Cutting Surface: On Perspective as a Section, Its Relationship to Writing, and Its Role in Understanding Space"  ''AA Files'' No. 40 (Winter 1999), pp.&nbsp;56–64 London: Architectural Association School of Architecture.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806195003/https://www.jstor.org/stable/29544173 |date=2020-08-06 }} 
* [http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjar20/16/3 Fontana-Giusti, Gordana. "Walling and the city: the effects of walls and walling within the city space", ''The Journal of Architecture'' pp 309–45 Volume 16, Issue 3, London & New York: Routledge, 2011.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418140224/http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjar20/16/3 |date=2022-04-18 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Gille |first=Bertrand |title=Alberti, Leone Battista |encyclopedia=[[Dictionary of Scientific Biography]] |volume=1 |pages=96–98 |publisher=Charles Scribner's F. Canali e V. C. Galati, V. Galati, Leon Battista Alberti a Napoli e nei baronati del Regno aragonese. Cultura, Archeologia, Architettura e città. Parte Prima, StrStudi, Consulenze, Autopsie antiquarie e Giudizi tecnici (in Apulia, Campania, Latium, Lucania, Marsica, Picenum e Sicilia), in Memorabilia tra natura e geometria. Il Culto del Passato dalla Inventio alla Reinterpretazione, cura di F. Canali «Bollettino della Società di Studi Fiorentini», 30-31, 2021-2022, pp. 426-483. F. Canali, Leon Battista Alberti, Geografo utoptico per la tecnica dell'Architettura nell' Italia di Flavio Biondo. in Memorabilia tra natura e geometria. Il Culto del Passato dalla Inventio alla Reinterpretazione, cura di F. Canali «Bollettino della Società di Studi Fiorentini», 30-31, 2021-2022, pp. 314-425.Sons |location=New York |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-684-10114-9}}
* Anthony Grafton, ''Leon Battista Alberti. Master Builder of the Italian Renaissance''. New York 2000
* [[Mark Jarzombek]], [http://web.mit.edu/mmj4/www/downloads/renstud4_3.pdf  “The Structural Problematic of Leon Battista Alberti's De pictura”] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125084529/http://web.mit.edu/mmj4/www/downloads/renstud4_3.pdf |date=2020-11-25 }}, Renaissance Studies 4/3 (September 1990): 273–285.
* {{cite book |author=Mark Jarzombek |author-link=Mark Jarzombek |title=On Leon Battista Alberti: His Literary and Aesthetic Theories |publisher=[[MIT Press]] |year=1990 |isbn=9780262367899 |url=https://direct.mit.edu/books/book/5058/On-Leon-Battista-AlbertiHis-Literary-and-Aesthetic}}
* ''Les'' Livres de la famille'' d'Alberti, Sources, sens et influence'', sous la direction de Michel Paoli, avec la collaboration d'Elise Leclerc et Sophie Dutheillet de Lamothe, préface de Françoise Choay, Paris, Classiques Garnier, 2013.
* Manfredo Tafuri, ''Interpreting the Renaissance: Princes, Cities, Architects'', trans. Daniel Sherer. New Haven 2006.

* [[Robert Tavernor]], On Alberti and the Art of Building. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|978-0-300-07615-8}}.
* Vasari, ''The Lives of the Artists'' Oxford University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-19-283410-X}}
* Wright, D.R. Edward, [https://www.jstor.org/stable/751438 "Alberti's De Pictura: Its Literary Structure and Purpose"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806234621/https://www.jstor.org/stable/751438 |date=2020-08-06 }}, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 47, 1984 (1984), pp.&nbsp;52–71.
* Caspar Pearson, ''Leon Battista Alberti: The Chameleon's Eye.'' Reaktion, London, 2022;
* Giovanni Ponte, Leon Battista Alberti: Umanista e scrittore, Tilgher, Genova, 1981;
* Paolo Marolda, Crisi e conflitto in Leon Battista Alberti, Bonacci, Roma, 1988;
* Roberto Cardini, Mosaici: Il nemico dell'Alberti, Bulzoni, Roma 1990;
* Rosario Contarino, Leon Battista Alberti moralista, presentazione di Francesco Tateo, S. Sciascia, Caltanissetta 1991;
* Pierluigi Panza, Leon Battista Alberti: Filosofia e teoria dell'arte, introduzione di Dino Formaggio, Guerini, Milano 1994;
* Cecil Grayson, Studi su Leon Battista Alberti, a cura di Paola Claut, Olschki, Firenze 1998;
* Stefano Borsi, Momus, o Del principe: Leon Battista Alberti, i papi, il giubileo, Polistampa, Firenze 1999;
* Luca Boschetto, Leon Battista Alberti e Firenze: Biografia, storia, letteratura, Olschki, Firenze 2000;
* Alberto G. Cassani, La fatica del costruire: Tempo e materia nel pensiero di Leon Battista Alberti, Unicopli, Milano 2000;
* Elisabetta Di Stefano, L'altro sapere: Bello, arte, immagine in Leon Battista Alberti, Centro internazionale studi di estetica, Palermo 2000;
* Rinaldo Rinaldi, Melancholia Christiana. Studi sulle fonti di Leon Battista Alberti, Firenze, Olschki, 2002;
* Francesco Furlan, Studia albertiana: Lectures et lecteurs de L.B. Alberti, N. Aragno-J. Vrin, Torino-Parigi 2003;
* Anthony Grafton, Leon Battista Alberti: Un genio universale, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2003;
* D. Mazzini, S. Martini. Villa Medici a Fiesole. Leon Battista Alberti e il prototipo di villa rinascimentale, Centro Di, Firenze 2004;
* Michel Paoli, Leon Battista Alberti 1404–1472, Paris, Editions de l'Imprimeur, 2004, {{ISBN|2-910735-88-5}}.
* Anna Siekiera, Bibliografia linguistica albertiana, Firenze, Edizioni Polistampa, 2004 (Edizione Nazionale delle Opere di Leon Battista Alberti, Serie «Strumenti», 2);
* Francesco P. Fiore: La Roma di Leon Battista Alberti. Umanisti, architetti e artisti alla scoperta dell'antico nella città del Quattrocento, Skira, Milano 2005, {{ISBN|88-7624-394-1}};
* Leon Battista Alberti architetto, a cura di Giorgio Grassi e Luciano Patetta, testi di Giorgio Grassi et alii, Banca CR, Firenze 2005;
* Stefano Borsi, Leon Battista Alberti e Napoli, Polistampa, Firenze 2006; {{ISBN|88-88967-58-3}}
* Gabriele Morolli, Leon Battista Alberti. Firenze e la Toscana, Maschietto Editore, Firenze, 2006.
* F. Canali, "Leon Battista Alberti "Camaleonta" e l'idea del Tempio Malatestiano dalla Storiografia al Restauro, in Il Tempio della Meraviglia, a cura di F. Canali, C. Muscolino, Firenze, 2007.
* Alberti e la cultura del Quattrocento, Atti del Convegno internazionale di Studi, (Firenze, Palazzo Vecchio, Salone dei Dugento, 16-17-18 dicembre 2004), a cura di R. Cardini e M. Regoliosi, Firenze, Edizioni Polistampa, 2007.
* F. Canali (ed.), «Bollettino della Società di Studi Fiorentini», 16–17, 2008.
* Christoph Luitpold Frommel, Alberti e la porta trionfale di Castel Nuovo a Napoli, in «Annali di architettura» n° 20, Vicenza 2008.
* Massimo Bulgarelli, Leon Battista Alberti, 1404-1472: Architettura e storia, Electa, Milano 2008;
* Caterina Marrone, I segni dell'inganno. Semiotica della crittografia, Stampa Alternativa&Graffiti, Viterbo 2010;
* S. Borsi, Leon Battista Alberti e Napoli, Firenze, 2011.
* V. Galati, Il Torrione quattrocentesco di Bitonto dalla committenza di Giovanni Ventimiglia e Marino Curiale; dagli adeguamenti ai dettami del De Re aedificatoria di Leon Battista Alberti alle proposte di Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1450-1495), in Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean XV to XVIII centuries, a cura di G. Verdiani, Firenze, 2016, vol.III.
* S. Borsi, Leon Battista, Firenze, 2018.
{{div col end}}
* Andrew Taylor,''The World of Gerard Mercator: The Mapmaker Who Revolutionized Geography.'' New York: Walter and Company, 2004. {{ISBN|0-8027-1377-7}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Leon Battista Alberti|<br/>Leon Battista Alberti}}
{{Library resources box|by=no|onlinebooks=no|about=yes|wikititle=Leon Battista Alberti}}
* [http://alberti.wordpress.com Albertian Bibliography on line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718084734/http://alberti.wordpress.com/ |date=2011-07-18 }}
* [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:FHCL.HOUGH:1267672 MS Typ 422.2. Alberti, Leon Battista, 1404–1472. Ex ludis rerum mathematicarum : manuscript, [14--&#93;.] Houghton Library, Harvard University.
* [http://www.palladiancenter.org/predecessors.html Palladio's Literary Predecessors] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181217055656/http://www.palladiancenter.org/predecessors.html |date=2018-12-17 }}
* [http://www.berfrois.com/2011/09/caspar-pearson-urban-siege/ "Learning from the City-States? Leon Battista Alberti and the London Riots"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830223552/https://www.berfrois.com/2011/09/caspar-pearson-urban-siege/ |date=2021-08-30 }}, Caspar Pearson, ''[http://www.berfrois.com/ Berfrois] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717195143/http://www.berfrois.com/ |date=2011-07-17 }}'', September 26, 2011
* Warburg Institute Director's Seminar - 'Panofsky and Wittkower on Alberti: Divergent Receptions of "De Re Aedificatoria" I, 10'. Daniel Sherer. June 5, 2023.
* Online resources for Alberti's buildings
** Alberti Photogrammetric Drawings [http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/alberti/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305193745/http://www.bath.ac.uk/ace/alberti/ |date=2009-03-05 }}
** [http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/S._Andrea.html S. Andrea, Mantua, Italy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812061546/http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/S._Andrea.html |date=2020-08-12 }}
** [http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/S._Andrea.html Sta. Maria Novella, Florence, Italy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812061546/http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/S._Andrea.html |date=2020-08-12 }}
* Alberti's works online
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20090827080353/http://www.liberliber.it/biblioteca/a/alberti/de_pictura/html/index.htm ''De pictura''/''Della pittura''], original Latin and Italian texts ([http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Alberti/ English translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190216095004/http://www.noteaccess.com/Texts/Alberti/ |date=2019-02-16 }})
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20071014172451/http://ilnarratore.com/show.php?type=author&language=en&aid=12&tpl=%2Feng%2Fautore.tpl.html ''Libri della famiglia – Libro 3 – Dignità del volgare''] on audio MP3
** [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/itali/autoren/alberti_itali.html ''Momus''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115044657/http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/itali/autoren/alberti_itali.html |date=2010-11-15 }}, (printed in Rome in 1520), full digital facsimile, CAMENA Project
** [http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?/classics,4839 ''The Architecture of Leon Battista Alberti in Ten Books''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803033446/http://contentdm.lindahall.org/u?%2Fclassics%2C4839 |date=2020-08-03 }}, (printed in London in 1755), full digital facsimile, Linda Hall Library
** [https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Alberti%2C%20Leon%20Battista%22 Works of Alberti], book facsimiles via archive.org

{{Aesthetics}}
{{Leon Battista Alberti}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alberti, Leone Battista}}
[[Category:Leon Battista Alberti]]
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