Hypnerotomachia

One of the strangest and most beautiful books of the Renaissance, this dream-romance follows the lovesick Poliphilo through a fantastical landscape of ancient ruins, gardens, and elaborate architecture in pursuit of his beloved Polia. Famous for its lush, hallucinatory prose and its exquisite original woodcuts, it is as much a meditation on art, antiquity, and desire as a love story. Long prized by scholars and book-lovers as a masterpiece of early printing, the Hypnerotomachia is a singular literary curiosity. Enigmatic and gorgeous, it offers a mesmerizing journey into the Renaissance imagination.