Vitruvius

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (born c. 80–70 BC, died after c. 15 BC), commonly known as Vitruvius or Vitruvi or Vitruvio, was a Roman author, architect, civil engineer and military engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled De architectura.

By his own description Vitruvius served as an artilleryman, the third class of arms in the military offices. He probably served as a senior officer of artillery in charge of doctores ballistarum (artillery experts) and libratores who actually operated the machines.

Little is known about Vitruvius' life. Most inferences about him are extracted from his only surviving work De Architectura. His first name Marcus and his cognomen Pollio are uncertain. He was possibly a praefectus fabrum during military service or praefect architectus armamentarius of the apparitor status group. Cetius Faventinus speaks of "Vitruvius Polio aliique auctores" in his epitome; it is possible that the cognomen derives from this mention by Cetius, meaning Vitruvius, Polio, and others – further confusing the cognomen, an inscription in Verona names Lucius Vitruvius Cordo and an inscription from Thilbilis, North Africa (near Guelma) names Marcus Vitruvius Mamurra. From this inscription the archaeologist Dr. G. Q. Giglioli nearly concludes that Vitruvius and Mamurra are from the same family; his argument is presented by Ettore Pais:

That [name is] very common in Formiae and [regions adjacent], as [well] Dr. Giglioli [observes], it [is] rare [elsewhere]. Indeed [so far], except for [some historical] figures, that, [as the] writer Vitruvius [and Vacca], Formiae belonged [to or who] are assigned [to] it, this [name] is not [natively] found [in] Numidia. [And only in] a epigraph of [this] region [Dr. Giglioli] has recovered the [memory of] a member [of] the [family] Mamurra Vitruvius." [and deduces] he is "[of the] same family as [the] well [known writer from] Formia.

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