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 Benvenuto della Volpaia
Benvenuto della Volpaia (Florence, 1486 - Rome, 1532) was a clock-maker, instrument maker, an inventor of machines and a topographer. Like his brothers Eufrosino della Volpaia and Camillo della Volpaia, he continued the activities of his father Lorenzo della Volpaia. In 1534 he designed a grain mill and a mill to grind coal for the citadel of Pisa. During the siege of Florence of 1529 he made a model of the city and its environs for the besiegers. In 1531 he found himself in Rome, where he had been called by Cardinal Giovanni Salviati. From the pope he obtained an apartment on the courtyard of the Belvedere, where he hosted Michelangelo, with whom he had a profound friendship. He acted as an intermediary between the artist and the Pope. His inventions are collected in a famous notebook now conserved in the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice (Cod. It. IV, 41 = 5363).

For instruments by Benvenuto della Volpaia, see:
   Dividers, Signed by Benvenuto della Volpaia, Florence, 16th century (Firenze, IMSS)

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