Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
First edition | |
| Author | Francesco Colonna |
|---|---|
| Original title | Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, ubi humana omnia non nisi somnium esse docet. Atque obiter plurima scitu sane quam digna commemorat. |
| Translator | Joscelyn Godwin |
| Language | Italian / Latin |
| Genre | Romance, allegorical fantasy |
| Publisher | Aldus Manutius |
Publication date | 1499 |
| Publication place | Italy |
Published in English | 1999 |
| Media type | |
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (/hiːpˌnɛəroʊtəˈmɑːkiːə pəˈliːfəˌliː/; from Ancient Greek ὕπνος hýpnos 'sleep'; ἔρως érōs 'love' and μάχη máchē 'fight'), called in English Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream or The Dream of Poliphilus, is a book attributed to Francesco Colonna. Hypnerotomachia Poliphili presents a mysterious arcane allegory in which the main protagonist, Poliphilo, pursues his love, Polia, through a dreamlike landscape. In the end, he is reconciled with her by the "Fountain of Venus".
It is a famous example of an incunable (a work of early printing). The work was first published in 1499 in Venice by Aldus Manutius as a sort of graphic novel. This first edition has an elegant page layout, with refined woodcut illustrations in an Early Renaissance style. The Aldine Press issued a second edition after the death of Aldus.