11-05-2026, 09:36 AM
No complete, mainstream English translation of Giovanni Battista Nazari's Della tramutatione metallica sogni tre has been commercially published. It remains one of the major Renaissance alchemical treatises that lacks a widely available modern translation into English. [1]
However, you can access the text in a few alternative ways:
1. Original Digitisations
If you want to view the text alongside its full suite of enigmatic woodcuts, the original 16th-century Italian editions have been fully digitised. You can read or browse through the 1599 edition for free on the Internet Archive or explore copies hosted by European academic heritage platforms such as E-rara.ch. [1, 2]
2. Modern Italian Facsimiles & Re-prints
For those who read Italian, there are modern print-on-demand services and boutique publishers that offer physical facsimiles or transcribed versions of the archaic Italian text. You can find these independent prints on platforms like AbeBooks or Amazon. [1, 2, 3]
3. Partial Academic Translations and Guides
Scholarly databases and esoteric studies hubs sometimes contain translated excerpts or synopses.
• The Alchemy Web Site: Curated by alchemical scholar Adam McLean, the Alchemy Web Site features breakdowns of Nazari's imagery, translated descriptions of the woodcuts, and an analysis of how the imagery evolved between the 1564 and 1599 editions. [1, 2]
• Amsterdam Hermetica / Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy: Academic institutions focusing on esotericism (like the University of Amsterdam) often publish research papers containing translated fragments of Nazari's dreams for context. [1]
However, you can access the text in a few alternative ways:
1. Original Digitisations
If you want to view the text alongside its full suite of enigmatic woodcuts, the original 16th-century Italian editions have been fully digitised. You can read or browse through the 1599 edition for free on the Internet Archive or explore copies hosted by European academic heritage platforms such as E-rara.ch. [1, 2]
2. Modern Italian Facsimiles & Re-prints
For those who read Italian, there are modern print-on-demand services and boutique publishers that offer physical facsimiles or transcribed versions of the archaic Italian text. You can find these independent prints on platforms like AbeBooks or Amazon. [1, 2, 3]
3. Partial Academic Translations and Guides
Scholarly databases and esoteric studies hubs sometimes contain translated excerpts or synopses.
• The Alchemy Web Site: Curated by alchemical scholar Adam McLean, the Alchemy Web Site features breakdowns of Nazari's imagery, translated descriptions of the woodcuts, and an analysis of how the imagery evolved between the 1564 and 1599 editions. [1, 2]
• Amsterdam Hermetica / Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy: Academic institutions focusing on esotericism (like the University of Amsterdam) often publish research papers containing translated fragments of Nazari's dreams for context. [1]