Città di Venetia descritta dal P. Coronelli Cosmografo della Serenissima Republica.
Copper engraving on two sheets with vivid hand coloring, measuring 48 x 77 cm (79 x 105 cm framed). A few creases, generally very good. A very attractive large bird’s eye-view of Venice derived from Merian’s 1638 version, updated with the new addition of the Basilica della Salute, which was completed only in 1687. The view is “considered one of the most beautiful and appreciated Venetian maps” (Moretto, 114), and is set within a laurel branch border, entwined with a ribbon decorated with 86 medallions with the names and coat of arms of the cities of the Republic, totally innovative and unique at the time. At center top, the winged lion of Saint Mark, the symbol of the city dominates the view. Two small cartouches list the title on the left and the dedication to Abbondio Rezzonico on the right. The map is anonymous. Our copy is the second issue of the first state with the four columns of text printed in the back, rich in information on Venetian institutions of the time. It was later included in Coronelli’s Isolario, published in Venice between 1696-1698. A cosmographer, cartographer, publisher, and Franciscan friar, Vincenzo Coronelli (1650-1718) founded Europe’s first geographical society, the Accademia degli Argonauti. A globemaker for the Italian nobility, he was also commissioned in 1683 to build a pair of gigantic, globes for Louis XIV, fifteen feet across, and was made cartographer to the Sun King. He was also a prolific writer, who wrote on various topics; his work is notable for its accuracy and detail. Among his many works the three-volume Libro dei Globi, the thirteen-volume folio atlas Atlante Veneto, and the Isolario particularly stand out. *Cassini, 52; Moretto, 114.
Price: $8,850.00