Abstract

How can the fanciful description of invisible cities yield deeper insights into real cities? And how can a novel that speaks of these cities be considered a book on architecture, one of the most beautiful ever written? To answer these questions we must refer both - and here too there is something that may seem paradoxical but is not - to the wisdom of ancient myths and to the answers that scientific research offers concerning complex issues like perception and vision. The creativity of poets is the linkage between these two extremes.