RARE FIRST EDITION of the most famous artillery treatise of the 17th century, written by the leading expert of the period. The work represents Pietro Sardi's main work and occupies a place of absolute importance in the military science of his century; land and naval artillery, cannons and howitzers, their construction and ammunition, ballistics and the production of gunpowder and saltpeter, its main component, are covered in detail. In fact, little was known about the influence of this last component on the power and quality of the black powder and Sardi was the first to theorize the effect and the ways of optimizing production and use, becoming, especially for this last aspect, famous. His work became the basis for studies on gunpowder not only in Europe, it was also used by military engineers of the Ottoman Empire. The work is divided into three books: the first deals with the history of artillery and the principles of ballistics; the second deals with the different types of gunners, canons and howitzers, their design and casting; the third deals with the components of weapons, guns, wheels, loading and ammunition tools, the applications of gunpowder and saltpeter and describes in particular naval artillery and its use.