For which art-form did Roman Vitruvius define the three principles of 'firmitas, utilitas, venustas' in the 1st century AD?
History of gardening Vitruvius, a Roman author and engineer, wrote the oldest extant design manual in 27 BC. "De architectura libri decem" ("Ten Books on Architecture") addressed design theory, landscape architecture, engineering, water supply, and public projects, such as parks and squares. Vitruvius asserted that "firmitas" (firmness, durability, strength), "utilitas" (commodity, convenience, utility) and "venustas" (delight, loveliness, beauty) were the primary objectives of design. Some still consider these elements essential to quality design of landscape. After the emergence of the first civilizations, wealthy persons began to create gardens for purely aesthetic purposes. Egyptian tomb paintings of the 16th century BC are some of
Architecture Vitruvius in the early 1st century AD. According to Vitruvius, a good building should satisfy the three principles of "firmitas, utilitas, venustas", commonly known by the original translation – "firmness, commodity and delight". An equivalent in modern English would be: According to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. Leon Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, "De Re Aedificatoria", saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, although ornament also played a part. For Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised