TO THE MOST ILLUSTRIOUS

AND MOST REVEREND

Giulio Rovere, most distinguished Cardinal

of the Holy Roman Church.

FA large decorative initial 'F' set within a rectangular frame. Inside the letter, a nude putto (cherub) stands in a landscape with hills and clouds, holding a surveying instrument, possibly a level or a square.EDERICO COMMANDINO, my father-in-law, told me more than once before his death that he would shortly have delivered this book of Hero, which he recently rendered into Latin, to the printers to be struck off; and he had determined that it should be published dedicated to you, both that he might offer a token of his grateful mind for so many favors bestowed upon him, and because he judged it a sacrilege that the writings of one who has always deservedly been numbered among the foremost mathematicians should not be presented to a man of princely rank. Moreover, since all men of noble and excellent spirit have recognized this book as your particular delight—and from it they have drawn innumerable ornaments for places which are established for the pleasure of the mind—he deemed it wrong that it should not be commended to so Noble and Excellent a Patron. Wherefore, just as I perceive that I have satisfied the will of a man most devoted to your Greatness, as well as my own duty, so I know for certain that I have best provided for this charming little book, which was put to the press immediately upon Commandino’s death, by dedicating it to you as he intended. Therefore, with that serene and