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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Plinio Innocenzi
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DOI:10.17265/2159-550X/2026.03.002
University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
Among the numerous mechanical and military devices conceived by Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501), his projects for paddle-wheel ships occupy a distinctive position. These designs reveal an ambitious attempt to overcome the constraints of wind-dependent navigation through mechanically driven propulsion. This article examines Francesco di Giorgio paddle-wheel ship concepts within their technical, historical, and epistemological context. By analysing their mechanical architecture, power transmission logic, and operational assumptions, the study highlights both the originality of these designs and the structural limitations that prevented their practical realization. The analysis situates Francesco di Giorgio projects within the broader Renaissance issue of artificial motion, prefiguring later developments in steam-powered navigation while remaining firmly rooted in human and animal energy regimes.
Francesco di Giorgio, Renaissance, engineering, paddle ships
Plinio Innocenzi. (2026). Paddle-Wheel Ships in the Engineering Imagination of Francesco di Giorgio Martini Technology, Power Transmission, and the Limits of Renaissance Naval Innovation. History Research, March 2026, Vol. 8, No. 3, 142-156.
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