Carrello
The Strife of Love in a Dreame is a translation by "R.D." of part of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. This latter work, published by Aldus Manutius in 1499, is a dream-vision, written in a mixture of Latin, Greek, and Italian. It appeared anonymously; but the author, Fra Francesco Colonna (1433-1527), a monk in the monastery of SS. Giovanni e Paolo in Venice for much of his life - hence the work's anonymity - took care to reveal his name in an acrostic given hy the first letter of each chapter. It reads: POLIAM FRATER FRANCISCUS COLVMNA PERAMAVIT (Fra Francesco Colonna desperately loved Polia). This was already noticed by 1512, and known to the translator of the French edition of 1546. The heroine, Polia, had a real-life counterpart in Hippolita, a member of the Lelio family of Treviso; other elements of the book, too, have their factual counterparts. It is perhaps this mixture of truth and fantasy which gives the book an interest as literature rather than as a mere curiosity.