Invention designed by Branca. Steam blower powering a double pestle. Le machine, Rome 1629. Giovanni Branca (April 22, 1571 - January 24, 1645) was an Italian engineer and architect, chiefly remembered today for what some commentators have taken to be an early steam engine. Branca designed many different mechanical inventions, that were published in book form at Rome in 1629, under the title Le machine. The work contains 63 woodcuts with descriptions in Italian and Latin. Unlike earlier authors, he did not claim to be the creator of many of the machines and in one instance is even uncertain over how the machine in question is supposed to work. His Manuale d'Architettura, also published in 1629, was a practical guide for planning and construction and is considered the first architectural handbook. He died in 1645 at the age of 73.