De re aedificatoria: "On the Art of Building in Ten Books", is a classic architectural treatise written by Leon Battista Alberti in 1450. Leone Battista Alberti (February 1404 - 25th April 1472), Italian painter, poet, linguist, philosopher, cryptographer, musician, architect, and general Renaissance polymath . ...

Although largely dependent on Vitruvius's De architectura, it was the first modern theoretical book on the subject. In fact, the book was so popular that in 1485 it became the first printed book on architecture. Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He was the author of De architectura, known today as The Ten Books of Architecture, a treatise in Latin on architecture, and perhaps the first work about this discipline. ... De architectūra (Latin: On architecture) was a treatise on architecture written by the Roman architect Vitruvius and dedicated to his patron, the emperor Caesar Augustus. ...

Alberti’s Ten Books consciously echoes Vitruvius's writing, but he also adopts a critical attitude toward his predecessor. In his discussion, Alberti includes a wide variety of literary sources, including Plato and Aristotle, presenting concise version of sociology of architecture. Unlike Vitruvius's book, Alberti's tells architects how buildings should be built, not how they were built. De re aedificatoria is subdivided into ten books and includes: Marcus Vitruvius Pollio was a Roman writer, architect and engineer, active in the 1st century BC. He was the author of De architectura, known today as The Ten Books of Architecture, a treatise in Latin on architecture, and perhaps the first work about this discipline. ... For other uses, see Plato (disambiguation). ... Aristotle (Ancient Greek: , AristotélÄ“s) (384 BC – March 7, 322 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. ... Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ...

• Book One: Lineaments
• Book Two: Materials
• Book Three: Construction
• Book Four: Public Works
• Book Five: Works of Individuals
• Book Six: Ornament
• Book Seven: Ornament to Sacred Buildings
• Book Eight: Ornament to Public Secular Buildings
• Book Nine: Ornament to Private Buildingings
• Book Ten: Restoration of Buildings

De Re Aedificatoria remained the classic treatise on architecture from the 16th until the 18th century.

References:

• Alberti, Leon Battista. De re aedificatoria. On the art of building in ten books. (translated by Joseph Rykwert, Neil Leach, and Robert Tavernor). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1988

• Grafton, Anthony. Leon Battista Alberti: master builder of the Italian Renaissance. New York: Hill and Wang, 2000.