Nice example of De Jode's modern map of Greece, which was both separately issued and included in his Speculum Orbis Terrae, drawn from the work of the Italian Renaissance Architect, Pirro Ligorio.
The present example has no text on the verso and includes what appears to be a manuscript partial index and is almost certainly issued separately. It is also a fine dark impression.
De Jode's modern map of Greece is drawn from Pirro Ligorio's map of 1561. Ligorio (1510-1583) was an Architect, artist and designer, born in Naples and rumored to have been an illegitimate child of one of the Princes of Caraffa. In 1534, he moved to Rome, where he developed his interest in antiquities and served as superintendent to the ancient monuments at the will of Popes Pius IV and Paul IV. In 1549, Ligorio worked to excavate Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli and designed the water works at Villa d'Este, for Cardinal Ippolito II d'Este. He also played a role in designing the fountains at Villa Lante in Bagnaio, working alongside Vignola. His Mannerist taste is present also in the Casina Pio IV (also known as Villa Pia) at the Vatican (1559-1562).
Ligorio's skills as a perspective artist, painter and antiquarian, and his involvement with the monuments of Rome apparently led him to maps, commencing with his maps of Ancient Rome, published in 1552. This was followed by an important association in 1553, with Michele Tramezzino, with whom he collaborated on a second map of Rome. This relationship apparently inspired a further series of collaborative maps, including modern maps of Naples (1557), France and Belgium (1558), and Hungary and Spain (1559), published by Tramezzino but credited to the work of both men. This cartographic collaboration with Tramezzino led to the production of Ligorio's "more interesting and original map" of Greece, published in1561, "in which he specified the location of numerous ancient and contemporary towns." (Coffin, p 25). The last of Ligorio's cartographic works covers Friuli (1563), although Coffin notes that only the maps of Greece and Naples are works driven primarily by Ligorio.
The present example also includes a revised depiction of the coastline of Crete. For the different variant, click here: www.e-rara.ch/bau_1/content/titleinfo/3946397