Agostino Ramelli from Diverse et artificiose machine cropped

Agostino Ramelli (1531–ca. 1610) was an Italian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

best known for writing and illustrating the book of engineering designs ''Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli'', which contains, among others, his design for the

bookwheel The bookwheel (also written book wheel and sometimes called a reading wheel) is a type of rotating bookcase that allows one person to read multiple books in one location with ease. The books are rotated vertically similar to the motion of a water ...

. Ramelli was born in Ponte Tresa or Mesanzena, today in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. During the

Siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the Pr ...

(1572–1573), he successfully engineered a mine under a bastion and breached the fortification,"One Good Turn: A Natural History of the Screwdriver and Screw" Witold Rybczynski p.47 making him popular with his commander, Henri d'Anjou, who later became King

Henri III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of L ...

. In 1588 Ramelli published ''Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli'', or ''The various and ingenious machines of Captain Agostino Ramelli''. The book contains 195 designs, over 100 of which are water-raising machines, such as

water pumps A pump is a device that moves fluids ( liquids or gases), or sometimes slurries, by mechanical action, typically converted from electrical energy into hydraulic energy. Pumps can be classified into three major groups according to the method they ...

or wells.Brashear, Ronald
Ramelli's Machines
Smithsonian Libraries. Other designs include

bridges A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually someth ...

, mills, and a possible forerunner to the

Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...

. The bookwheel is one of the most famous designs from this book. ''Le diverse et artificiose machine'' is still printed and sold.

References

External links

* *Complete high-resolution scan of a 1588 printing of
Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli
' (all pages freely available for download in variety of formats from

Science History Institute The Science History Institute is an institution that preserves and promotes understanding of the history of science. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it includes a library, museum, archive, research center and conference center. It was f ...

Digital Collections a
digital.sciencehistory.org
.
''Diverse et artificiose machine''
From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

Schatzkammer mechanischer Künste, des Capitains Herrn Augustini de Ramellis.
Leipzig Durch Henning Grossen den Jüngern, 1620. From th
Rare Book and Special Collections Division
at the

* Agostino Ramelli (1588
''Le diverse et artificiose machine del Capitano Agostino Ramelli''
- digital facsimile from the

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, sitting "majestically on a urban arboretum." It is the "largest independently funded public library of scien ...

1531 births 1610 deaths {{Italy-engineer-stub Italian engineers Italian military engineers People from Lugano District People of the French Wars of Religion