Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v2.c16.151

v2.c16.151

"From the fragments of inscriptions relative to the Vitruvia family found in the neighbourhood of Farmiae (the present Mola di Gaeta), it has been presumed without a great stretch of probability, that it was in this territory Vitruvius was born. The age in which he lived was doubtless between the time of the death of Julius Cæsar and the battle of Actium, though some have assigned it to the reign of Titus. But his omission of the mention of a great number of magnificent buildings, erected after the time of Augustus, and his especial mention of the theatre of Pompey as the only one of stone, sufficiently prove that such a conjecture is not warranted by circumstances. The dedication, moreover, points to Augustus as the patron of Vitruvius, and the incident of C. Julius, the son of Masanissa, who was born in the army of Julius Cæsar, having lodged with him, as related in the third chapter of his eighth book, seems clearly to indicate the time of his existence. It is likely that the following treatise (of Vitruvius) was composed when he was advanced in life, and that it was presented to his patron after he had assumed the title of Augustus, that is, twenty-five years before the Christian era, inasmuch as he speaks of a temple erected to Augustus, in his Basilica at Fano."¹