Machina e machinatio in Vitruvio

Among the Latin authors, Vitruvius is the first to employ the word 'machinatio' in the sense of "mechanical". This is a new way of looking at machines and their related knowledge: not just a minor technology, but a doctrine in all respects. In this perspective, the X book of the 'De architectura' constitutes a veritable encyclopedia of mechanics, the first in Latin. In its pages it is clear the effort to develop a specific language, which can render appropriately Greek terms and concepts. Vitruvius describes different types of machines useful in everyday life and in war, and above all presents important insights on more import topics (e.g. the theoretical principles that govern the movement of machinery; the relationship between the model and its implementation; the relationship between machine and nature).