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Italiae Novissima Descriptio Avctore Iacobo Castaldo Pedemontano
Italiae Novissima Descriptio Avctore Iacobo Castaldo Pedemontano
TitleItaliae Novissima Descriptio Avctore Iacobo Castaldo Pedemontano
Alternative TitleItaliae Novissima
Detailed view (zoom)http://content.lib.washington.edu/mapsweb/images/Viewer/G6710_1579_O7.html
CartographerOrtelius, Abraham, 1527-1598
Gastaldi, Giacomo, ca. 1500-ca. 1565

Century Published16th century
Publication Date1579
PublisherOrtelius, Abraham 1527-1598
Place of PublicationBelgium--Antwerp
Original Source"Theatrum Orbis Terrarum." Ortelius, Abraham. Antwerp: Abraham Ortelius, 1579.
Descriptive NotesCopper engraving handcolored with watercolor.

Relief shown pictorially.

Printed in cartouche in upper right corner:
"Italiae Novissima Descriptio Avctore Iacobo Castaldo Pedemontano."

Written in pencil beneath bottom edge in lower right corner:
"Ortelius [illegible] 1590."

Printed on verso is a description of "Italiae" in Latin:
"Italia Provinciarum orbis primaria…."

Printed in upper right corner on verso:
"55."

Printed in lower right corner on verso:
"58."

Shows pictorial cities and major mountain ranges throughout Italy including the Tyrol Mountains and the Alps. Also includes Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily as well as parts of Bosnia, Serbia, Croatia Lichaiapra, Dalmatia and Albania. Labels the following in Latin: the Adriatic Sea, the Tyrrhenian Sea, the Ligurian Sea as the northwest part of the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Venice in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea. Includes a scale in lower right corner labeled "milllaria italica" with a mythological creature above it who has the body parts of a woman, a bird, a fish and a lion. Displays a vignette of Neptune and a female mermaid companion in the Mediterranean, sea monsters, ships and a decorative cartouche with a face beneath it in the upper right corner.

Scale: c.a. 1:2, 800, 000.
Contextual NotesAbraham Ortelius (1527-1598) was a cartographer and publisher. He set up a business as a book dealer and map painter in Antwerp. He traveled a great deal, making his business successful by developing a large network of contacts around Europe. In 1564 he published a world map in eight sheets, marking the start of a long career in map publishing (Moreland and Bannister, 98). In 1570, Ortelius published the "first modern uniform atlas" the "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" (1570) (Tooley, 476). Having combined a large collection of maps from various European cartographers, he had them engraved to a standard size (Moreland and Bannister, 98). He also commissioned Frans Hogenberg to create cartouches and illustrations for these maps, following the popular style of the Flemish Renaissance (Klemp, map 15). Multiple editions of this highly successful and influential atlas were published in many languages up to 1612. Of note, Ortelius credited other cartographers. Ortelius's other works include: "Egypt" (1565), "Asia" (1567), "Spain" (1570) and "Roman Empire" (1571) (Tooley, 476).

This particular map was published in Ortelius's "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum" (Koeman, 118). The map is based on an earlier work by Giacomo Gastaldi (ca. 1500- ca. 1565).

Source(s): Koeman, Cornelius, ed. "Alantes Neerlandici: Bibliography of Terrestrial, Maritime, and Celestial Books, Atlases and Pilot Books Published in the Netherlands up to 1880. Volume 2." Amsterdam: Theatrum Orbis Terrarum Ltd., 1970.

Moreland, Carl and David Bannister. "Antique Maps: A Collector's Handbook." New York: Longman Group, Ltd., 1983.

Tooley, Ronald Vere. "Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers." Hertfordshire: Map Collector Publications Limited, 1979.
LanguageLatin
Location DepictedItaly
Europe
Subjects (LCSH)Italy--Maps--Early works to 1800
Digital CollectionWorld and Regional Maps, 16th to the 19th centuries
Digital ID NumberMAP111
Ordering InformationFor information about digital reproductions, please email photos@u.washington.edu. Please cite the Digital ID number.
RepositoryUniversity of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division.
Repository CollectionRare Map Collection. G6710 1579 O7
Object TypeMap
Engraving
Physical Description36 x 51 cm.
ConditionSmall pieces missing from upper left corner. Tape on top left and right edges of leaf. Has binder's guard. On verso, call number written in pencil in lower left corner.
Digital Reproduction InformationScanned from original map at 600 dpi in TIFF format, resized and enhanced at 400 ppi using Adobe Photoshop, and imported as JPEG2000 using ContentDM's software JPEG2000 Extension. 2008.
ReferencesKoeman, v.3, 118. Van der Krogt 3, 7000: 31 B.
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