Vitruvius's work is one of the many examples of Latin texts that owe their survival to Charlemagne's palatial scriptorium at the beginning of the century, whose activity consisted of finding and copying classical manuscripts and is part of what is called the Carolingian Renaissance. Many of Vitruvius' surviving works are derived from the extant manuscript copied there, the British Library's Harley manuscript 2767.[3]​.

These texts were not only copied, but also known at Charlemagne's court, since his historian, Bishop Einhard, asked the visiting English ecclesiastic Alcuin for explanations of some technical terms. Furthermore, several people are known to have read the text or been indirectly influenced by it, including: Vussin, Hrabanus Maurus, Hermann of Reichenau, Hugh of Saint Victor, Gervase of Melkey, William of Malmesbury, Theoderic of Saint Trond, Petrus Diaconus, Albertus Magnus, Filippo Villani, Jean de Montreuil, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Giovanni de Dondi, Domenico di Bandino, Bernward of Hildesheim and Thomas Aquinas. In 1244 the Dominican friar Vincent de Beauvais made a large number of references to De Arquitectura in his compendium of all the knowledge of the Middle Ages, "Speculum Majus". In the century the Florentine nobleman, Niccolò Acciaioli, bequeathed copies to the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.[4]​.

Many copies of De Architectura, dating from the 8th to 15th centuries, were manuscripts and 92 are still available in public collections, but they appear to have received little attention during the Middle Ages, possibly due to the obsolescence of many to specialized Latin terms used by Vitruvius and the loss of most of the 10 original illustrations, which are considered useful for understanding parts of the text.

Vitruvius' work was "rediscovered" in 1414 by the Florentine humanist Poggio Bracciolini, who found a manuscript copy in the library of the Abbey of St. Gallen, in Switzerland. He released the manuscript to a receptive audience of Renaissance thinkers, just as interest in classical cultural and scientific heritage was reviving.

The first printed edition (Prince Edition) was published by the Veronese scholar Friar Giovanni Sulpitius, in 1486, with a second edition of 1495 or 1496, but neither was illustrated. This version, because it was printed in the 19th century, is an incunabulum. The Dominican friar Fra Giovanni Giocondo made the first illustrated version, with magnificent woodcuts, in Venice in 1511.

Italian translations were already in circulation in the 1520s, the first being a translation with new illustrations by Cesare Cesariano, a Milanese friend of the architect Bramante, printed in Como in 1521. De Arquitectura was quickly translated into other European languages: the first French version was published in 1547, and the first German version followed in 1548. The first Spanish translation was published in 1582 by Miguel de Urrea and Juan Gracian. The most influential edition was published in French in 1673 by Claude Perrault, commissioned by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1664.

In English, John Shute had drawn on the text as early as 1563 for his book The First and Chief Grounds of Architecture. Sir Henry Wotton's 1624 work, Elements of Architecture, is a highly influenced adaptation, while a much abridged translation was published in 1692. English speakers had to wait until 1771 for a complete translation of the first five volumes, and 1791 for the entire work. Thanks to the art of printing, Vitruvius's work had become widely disseminated, becoming a very important subject of study among architects, with very detailed and interpretive illustrations.

Vitruvio on line: http://architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr/Traite/Auteur/Vitruve.asp?param=en.

Vitruvius's work is one of the many examples of Latin texts that owe their survival to Charlemagne's palatial scriptorium at the beginning of the century, whose activity consisted of finding and copying classical manuscripts and is part of what is called the Carolingian Renaissance. Many of Vitruvius' surviving works are derived from the extant manuscript copied there, the British Library's Harley manuscript 2767.[3]​.

These texts were not only copied, but also known at Charlemagne's court, since his historian, Bishop Einhard, asked the visiting English ecclesiastic Alcuin for explanations of some technical terms. Furthermore, several people are known to have read the text or been indirectly influenced by it, including: Vussin, Hrabanus Maurus, Hermann of Reichenau, Hugh of Saint Victor, Gervase of Melkey, William of Malmesbury, Theoderic of Saint Trond, Petrus Diaconus, Albertus Magnus, Filippo Villani, Jean de Montreuil, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Giovanni de Dondi, Domenico di Bandino, Bernward of Hildesheim and Thomas Aquinas. In 1244 the Dominican friar Vincent de Beauvais made a large number of references to De Arquitectura in his compendium of all the knowledge of the Middle Ages, "Speculum Majus". In the century the Florentine nobleman, Niccolò Acciaioli, bequeathed copies to the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.[4]​.

Many copies of De Architectura, dating from the 8th to 15th centuries, were manuscripts and 92 are still available in public collections, but they appear to have received little attention during the Middle Ages, possibly due to the obsolescence of many to specialized Latin terms used by Vitruvius and the loss of most of the 10 original illustrations, which are considered useful for understanding parts of the text.

Vitruvius' work was "rediscovered" in 1414 by the Florentine humanist Poggio Bracciolini, who found a manuscript copy in the library of the Abbey of St. Gallen, in Switzerland. He released the manuscript to a receptive audience of Renaissance thinkers, just as interest in classical cultural and scientific heritage was reviving.

The first printed edition (Prince Edition) was published by the Veronese scholar Friar Giovanni Sulpitius, in 1486, with a second edition of 1495 or 1496, but neither was illustrated. This version, because it was printed in the 19th century, is an incunabulum. The Dominican friar Fra Giovanni Giocondo made the first illustrated version, with magnificent woodcuts, in Venice in 1511.

Italian translations were already in circulation in the 1520s, the first being a translation with new illustrations by Cesare Cesariano, a Milanese friend of the architect Bramante, printed in Como in 1521. De Arquitectura was quickly translated into other European languages: the first French version was published in 1547, and the first German version followed in 1548. The first Spanish translation was published in 1582 by Miguel de Urrea and Juan Gracian. The most influential edition was published in French in 1673 by Claude Perrault, commissioned by Jean-Baptiste Colbert in 1664.

In English, John Shute had drawn on the text as early as 1563 for his book The First and Chief Grounds of Architecture. Sir Henry Wotton's 1624 work, Elements of Architecture, is a highly influenced adaptation, while a much abridged translation was published in 1692. English speakers had to wait until 1771 for a complete translation of the first five volumes, and 1791 for the entire work. Thanks to the art of printing, Vitruvius's work had become widely disseminated, becoming a very important subject of study among architects, with very detailed and interpretive illustrations.

Vitruvio on line: http://architectura.cesr.univ-tours.fr/Traite/Auteur/Vitruve.asp?param=en.