|
||
|
|
|
|
Decorate example of the first edition of the single sheet version of Ludovico Ughi's 20 sheet wall map of Italy, first published in 1729.
Lodovico Ughi's topographical map of Venice is a landmark in the cartographic history of Venice. Over the centuries, Venetian map makers in general copied one another and did not significantly alter the appearance of the city from year to year. Among the exceptions are Jacopo de Barbari's magnificent bird's eye view of Venice printed in 1500 and Ughi's map of 1729. Not only are they the two the largest printed maps of Venice, but they served for centuries as models for all subsequent plans made of the city.
The Ughi map is the first and still largest topographical map produced of Venice based on accurate field surveys rather than on observation and copying of existing maps. The map became the basis of all later topographical representations of the city, down to the fall of the Republic in 1797.
At top right is the depiction of an allegorical Venice, triumphantly sailing on the sea pulled by dolphins, sea animals, and divinities, with the lion of St. Mark at her feet, symbolizing her marriage to the Queen of the sea and the riches she derives from it. St. Mark is the patron saint of Venice.
At the top left of the map, is the Vitruvian windrose, each wind direction personified by the head of a putti, and the eight major points of the compass, important for a city dependent on seafaring trade.
The first edition of the map lacks the title and date in the cartouche at te bottom left. The second edition includes a title and is dated 1747.
![Regnum Siciliae Cum circumjacentibus Regnis et Insulis… [shows Malta] (Heighten with Gold Leaf)](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/50376.jpg)
