Francesco Colonna
Francesco Colonna (1433/1434 – 1527) was an Italian Dominican priest and monk who was credited with the authorship of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by an acrostic formed by initial letters of the text. He lived in Venice, and preached at St. Besides Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, he definitely wrote a Latin epic poem, Delfili Somnium (the "Dream of Delfilo"), which went unpublished in his lifetime and was not published until 1959.
Francesco Colonna

Francesco Colonna (author), engraving attributed to J. Goujon or J. Cousin · Houghton Library · Public domain
- Name
- Francesco Colonna
- Born
- 1433
- Birthplace
- Venice, Italy
- Died
- 1527
- Occupation
- Priest and monk
- Nationality
- Republic of Venice
- Fields
- priesthood · monasticism
- Known for
- Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
- Languages
- medieval Italian · renaissance Latin
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Documentary summary
Francesco Colonna (1433/1434 – 1527) was an Italian Dominican priest and monk who was credited with the authorship of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili by an acrostic formed by initial letters of the text. He lived in Venice, and preached at St. Besides Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, he definitely wrote a Latin epic poem, Delfili Somnium (the "Dream of Delfilo"), which went unpublished in his lifetime and was not published until 1959.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q765444
In this article
Biography
Biography
Colonna spent part of his life in the monastery of San Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, but the monastery was apparently not of the strictest observance and Colonna was granted leave to live outside its walls. In Ian Caldwell's and Dustin Thomason's novel The Rule of Four, the Roman noble of the same name, Francesco Colonna, is featured as the true author of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili.
The recorded working language is medieval Italian and renaissance Latin. The field of work recorded is priesthood and monasticism. Works named in the authority record are Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Work by Francesco Colonna is recorded in the collections of Minneapolis Institute of Art and Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.

Book; Books
Francesco Colonna / Benedetto Bordone · This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. See the Image and Data Resources Open Access Policy
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Francesco Colonna • Native Name — Franciscus Columna • Religion — Catholic religion • School — St Mark's Basilica • Lineage — Colonna • Order — Dominican Order • Church — Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Venice • Born — 1433 • Birthplace — Venice, Italy • Died — 1527 • Place of death — Venice, Italy • Occupation — Priest and monk • Notable Works — Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1433
Francesco Colonna was born on 1 January 1433.
1527
Francesco Colonna died on 1 January 1527.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Francesco Colonna was born at Venice.
Birthplace
Francesco Colonna died at Venice.
Deathplace
Venice.
Birth place
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- Colonna, Francesco: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Die Inkunabeln in der Universitätsbibliothek Bern, 2023
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2023
reference work
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q765444: Francesco Colonna
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Francesco Colonna: vol. I Biographia Maria Teresa Casella, vol. II Opere, Giovanni Pozzi (Padua), 1959.
- 2.A comparable conclusion was reached in G. Goebel, "Le songe de Francesco Colonna, prince prenestin", Fifteenth Century Studies, Stuttgart, 1983.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
scholarly publication
Colonna, Francesco: Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, Die Inkunabeln in der Universitätsbibliothek Bern, 2023Crossref registry
Institutional witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q765444: Francesco ColonnaWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,078 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Francesco BerniAuthor
- Francesco BraccioliniAuthor
- Francesco ButiAuthor
- Francesco CancellieriAuthor
- Francesco da BarberinoAuthor
- Francesco Dall'OngaroAuthor
- Francesco de PinedoAuthor
- Francesco FilelfoAuthor
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