Mathematical Treasure: Manuscript on Area and Volume

The manuscript, Opusculum mathematicum or Works on Mathematics, was written in 1675 by Giovanna Battista Nigroni under the direction and supervision of the Jesuit teacher Joannes Salvaterra (d. 1680). Salvaterra taught several subjects in Genoa, among which was geometry. This work was a brief manual dealing mainly with the computation of area and volume.

The first few pages of Opusculum discuss basic concepts of geometry.

On page 7, the reader is introduced to the construction methods for several polygons.

The images above were obtained through the courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. The complete item can be viewed via its reference number, LJS 208.

Index to Mathematical Treasures