Cristiano Zanetti received his Ph.D. in History of Science and Technology at the History and Civilization Department of the European University Institute of Fiesole (2012). He has published monographs and articles on Medieval Archaeology and Renaissance Science and Technology, and is active in Public History projects and organizing exhibitions to disseminate the results of his research.

• IllustrationsAcknowledgementsAbbreviationsIntroductionPART 1. A CENTRE OF EDUCATION FOR THE VITRUVIAN ARTISAN AT THE PERIPHERY OF THE EMPIRE1. Janello Torriani's First EducationCremona, the Italian Wars and the Desire for a Better LifeFashioning the Aura of the GeniusFamily, Social Status, EducationHumanist Pedagogy in Cremona2. The Theoretical ClockThe Science of the StarsRenaissance Scientific InstrumentsA Physician as a Mentor: Giorgio Fondulo (Cremona 1473-1545)3. The practical ClockThe GuildJanello Torriani the BlacksmithBetween Public Clock and Private WorkshopPART 2. THE EMPEROR’S CLOCKMAKER (1540-1558)4. The Artisan CourtierThe Grand Tour in ReverseA Broth of Clocks for the EmperorClimbing The Social Ladder5. Networks and Technology in Habsburg EuropeFrom Commoner to CourtierThe Artisan’s ApotheosisThe Ambassadors from Mantua and their Brokerage of Janello’s InventionsJanello Entrepreneur6. The MicrocosmThe First Machine-Tool to Cut GearsAnatomy of the MicrocosmPART 3. HYDRAULIC METAMORPHOSIS OF A CLOCKMAKER AT THE COURT OF THE NEVER-SETTING SUN7. Mechanics: From Micro to MacroAutomata, Watches And Great MachinesModels and the Problems of ScaleFrom Clockmaking to Hydraulic Engineering8. Janello in Spain as a Royal Hydraulic Engineer (1563-1585)Hydraulic Engineering in the Habsburg EmpireToledo: a Paradigmatic Stage for Renaissance Water-Technology9. The First Global Empire Produces the First Giant Water-MachineQui Bono? Janello caught between the Devil and the Deep Blue SeaInvention and the Practice of SecrecyConclusionsBibliographyManuscript SourcesPrinted SourcesIndex

"Das gründlich recherchierte Buch kann jedem, der sich für die Wissenschafts- und Technikgeschichte der Frühen Neuzeit interessiert, wärmstens empfohlen werden." ["The thoroughly researched book can be warmly recommended to anyone interested in early modern science and technology."] Günther Oestmann, Acta Historica Astronomiae (2019) 66: 210-211 "Today that our knowledge of Torriani’s life and work has vastly increased, the need was felt for a book illustrating the life of the great technician from Cremona. Zanetti’s volume fully meets this need and brilliantly makes use of the many sources available today, providing a detailed historical reconstruction of the different milieus frequented byTorriani at various stages in his life. Elio Nenci (Università degli Studi di Milano), Nuncius 34 (2019): 192-194"I wholeheartedly recommend Zanetti's work, which chronicles the career of Janiello Torriani, "the prince among the architects of clocks", a master technician in the cutting of gears and a skilled hydrological engineer." Donald J. Kagay (University of Dallas), Sixteenth Century Journal XLIX/4 (2018): 1179-1181"Thanks to deep delving in Italian and Spanish archives and wide reading in the latest secondary sources, Zanetti throws new light on Torriano [a.k.a. Torriani] and the social structures within which he worked. No one interested in the technology of this period can afford to ignore this book." Anthony Turner, Antiquarian Horology, March 2018, pp. 115-116