Plinio Gaio Secondo, Historia Naturalis

Gaius Plinius secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, dedicates the 35th book of the Naturalis to the land and its various uses. The manufactures are divided into two sections: art (paintings and coroplastics) and current production (fittile, bricks and other materials obtained from particular lands). It features detailed information about the art, work and artistic personalities at that time (from Apelles, greatest painter of all times, to Fumulus and Nichomacus). Trough its in-depth encyclopedic sources this volume reconstructs the historical scenario of Greek painting during Classical Greece and the Hellenistic period. Those books of the Naturalis Historia dedicated to the arts have always been fundamental for anyone willing to investigate the influence of ancient art on modern civilization. 

Gaius Plinius secundus (23-79 a.C.), after being a clerical worker was nominated admiral of the Roman fleet in Porto Miseno. He died during Vesuvius's eruption on August 24th. He wrote the 37 books of the Naturalis Historia.