Alchemical Hands in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Why It Matters for the Hypnerotomachia

Meraviglia — wonder, astonishment — is the dominant aesthetic response the HP cultivates. Poliphilo repeatedly expresses stupefaction before colossal ruins, intricate gardens, and processions of unearthly beauty, making wonder both subject and method.

Why It Matters in Scholarship

Fabiani Giannetto (2015) connects the HP's cultivation of meraviglia to the Sacro Bosco at Bomarzo, arguing that both deploy architectural surprise as philosophical instruction. The concept links the HP to Renaissance aesthetic theory where wonder precedes understanding.

Key Passages / Evidence

• ... new and sudden and unexpected which appears before us, creates a movement in our soul, almost contradictory in itself of believing and not believing. Of believing because the thing is seen to... [Word_Image_2015_apr_03_vol_31_iss_2_Fabiani_Giannetto_Raffaella_Not_before_eithe]
• <!-- Page 3 --> appearance of verisimilitude and coherence.14 The dialectic tension of such a combination of opposites provokes the beholder’s astonishment and marvel. Some of the most marvelous... [Word_Image_2015_apr_03_vol_31_iss_2_Fabiani_Giannetto_Raffaella_Not_before_eithe]
• ... adesso guardare la Primavera con gli oc- chi del Magnifico. Alla sua destra la bellezza terrestre, mortale e ingannevole della defunta Simonetta: Morí, come disopra dicemo, nella città nostra una... [Canone & Spruit (emblematics)]

Source Documents

Avesani et al. (Colonna studies); Canone & Spruit (emblematics); Word_Image_2015_apr_03_vol_31_iss_2_Fabiani_Giannetto_Raffaella_Not_before_eithe