Arcane Knowledge in Vittone’s Treatises. The Istruzioni armoniche by Giovanni Battista Galletto in the Light of the Clavis sacra profundiora Davidicae domus Manuscript

Abstract

The conspicuous addition of the Istruzioni armoniche, or Breve Trattato sopra la natura del suono del Signor G.G. in the Istruzioni diverse by Vittone represents an interesting document within the studies on the so-called “harmonic theory”, that branch of architectural theory which identifies the foundations of architectural aesthetics in the numbers of musical theory. Vittone’s general interest for this topic, already addressed several times in Book II of the Istruzioni elementari, has been widely investigated by critics. Further insight on these topics is provided by the Istruzioni armoniche, written by Vittone’s assistant Giovanni Battista Galletto, and by the Clavis Sacra Profundiora Davidicae Domus, an unpublished manuscript by Galletto himself. In the two texts by Galletto, mysticism, music, biblical passages, Kabbalah and music theory merge in a cultural vision that takes shape within strong numerological beliefs (beliefs that do not seem to emerge elsewhere in Vittone’s treatises). The last chapter of the Istruzioni armoniche, chapter XXII, and the only engraving assigned to this chapter, table CXI, can be read as the point of arrival of a theoretical construction finding its final achievement in the number 22.