Hypnerotomachia Poliphili is a romance published in 1499 that, though the author was originally anonymous, has been attributed to Francesco Colonna. Some academics, however, doubt that Colonna is the author because, as a Dominican monk, he would not have the skill or experience to produce such a work. One academic has recently made the assertion that the attribution is correct, citing as evidence Colonna’s proximity to the text’s publisher, Aldus Manutius, and the wealth of other complex Renaissance works of literature confirmed to be written and compiled by talented members of the clergy. In light of this argument, it is clear that it is indeed possible that a member of a monastic order may have produced such a text.
Which of the following, if true, would most support the academic’s recent hypothesis concerning the authorship of Hypnerotomachia Poliphili?