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Description

The First Map of Ischia. The Basis for an Ortelius Map. From the Author of the First Work on Medical Hydrotherapy.

Fantastic original antique map of the volcanic island of Ischia off the coast of Naples, Mario Cartaro and Giulio Iasolino.

This is the first printed map to focus on the island, and the only map of the island printed in Italy in the 16th century.  The primary author, Mario Cartaro, had recently moved to Naples, where he was commissioned together with Nicola Antonio Stigliola to compile an atlas of the entire Kingdom of Naples and would become one of the cities most important engineers.

The map is fantastically decorated, showing the island with its imposing central volcano. Down the flanks of the central mountains are a number of fields, towns, and more. The map shows an extraordinary attention to detail, even by Lafreri School standards. Notice, for example, the aqueduct leading around the Mons Stabiae, the marvelous castled city of Ischia, or the numerous ships and sea monsters that can be found in the coastal waters.

The work is dedicated to Isabellae Della Rovere, a daughter of the Duke of Urbino and wife of Niccolo Bernardino Sanservino, Prince of Bisignano. She was an important patron of Naples, founding the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo and the Casa Professa dei Padri Gesuiti, as well as supporting her Jesuit followers. The map includes an extremely extensive index, spanning one-hundred-and-sixty-seven places of interest. A scale bar, a fantastic compass rose, and copious notes dot the map.

The map was produced by Giulio Iasolino and engraved by Mario Cartaro. Iasolino, a 17th-century expert on anatomy of Calabrian origins, was writing a treatise at the time that discussed the use of the thermal baths of Ischia for their medical benefits. His De Rimedi Naturali Che Sono Nell'Isola Di Pithecusa appeared in 1587, though it does not appear that it was issued with the map, as only very few copies of the book in institutions contain the presented map. Thus, it is almost certain that this map was issued separately, as concluded by Bifolco and Ronca.

Iasolino and Cartaro's map formed the basis for all maps of the island for nearly two hundred years. The map would rise to prominence outside Italy after its inclusion in Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, first appearing in the 1590 edition under the name Ischia, quae olim Aenaria. . . It would be republished in northern Europe by other engravers, including Jansson, but there are no known Italian 16th-century reprints. 

Rarity

We have been unable to trace any separate examples of this map having been on the market, though it does appear that Nebenzahl owned it in a Lafreri composite. Bifolco and Ronca list the following additional examples: Bergamo; Newberry Library; BNF (2); and this example.

It should be noted that Bifolco and Ronca's census is unusually thorough, and thus this map can be considered extremely rare.

The Lafreri School

The Lafreri School is a commonly used name for a group of mapmakers, engravers, and publishers who worked in Rome and Venice from ca. 1544 to 1585. The makers, who were loosely connected via business partnerships and collaborations, created maps that were then bound into composite atlases; the maps would be chosen based on the buyer or compiler’s interests. As the maps were initially published as separate-sheets, the style and size of maps included under the umbrella of the “School” differed widely. These differences can also be seen in the surviving Lafreri atlases, which have maps bound in with varying formats including as folded maps, maps with wide, trimmed, or added margins, smaller maps, etc.

The most famous mapmakers of the School included Giacomo Gastaldi and Paolo Forlani, among others. The School’s namesake, Antonio Lafreri, was a map and printseller. His 1572 catalog of his stock, entitled Indice Delle Tavole Moderne Di Geografia Della Maggior Parte Del Mondo, has a similar title to many of the composite atlases and thus his name became associated with the entire output of the larger group.

Condition Description
Repaired tear in left of map, slightly into image.
Reference
Bifolco and Ronca 1043
Mario Cartaro Biography

Engraver, draftsman, cartographer and merchant from Viterbo, although there has been serious discussion that he may have had a Nordic origin because as well as "Cartarus" and "Cartarius" he also signed "Kartarus" and "Kartarius", and he used the initials "MC" indifferently and "MK".  However, his 1579 Map of Rome is signed "Marius Kartarius Viterbensis," indicating that he came from Viterbo.

Active in Rome since 1560, he became famous as an engraver of works by various artists, views of the city, and - principally - maps. In addition to the Map of Rome, one of his more noteworthy accomplishments is the rare Description of the territory of Perugia drawn by Egnazio Danti (1536-1586).

Between 1562 and 1588, Cartaro engraved geographical maps and city ​​plans, including Cyprus and Candia of 1562, Palestine of 1563 bearing the signature of Ferrando Bertelli, Tunisi of 1574, two maps of Rome: a small one, from 1575, and a larger one from 1576 and the rare Descrittione del
Territory of Perugia
in 1580.

In 1586, Cartaro moved to Naples, where he was commissioned together with Nicola Antonio Stigliola to compile an atlas of the entire Kingdom of Naples. His name appears among the engineers of the Royal Court until 1610. In Naples he lived until his death on April 16, 1620.