A Nearly-Complete Example of one of the Great Italian Atlases of the Mid-16th Century.
Giovanni Francesco Camocio's atlas of the famous ports, fortresses, and islands both in the Mediterranean and further afield represents a fantastic complement of rare Lafreri school maps by Camocio, Domenico Zenoi, Paolo Forlani, and Martino Rota.
The atlas was compiled in response to the Fourth Ottoman-Venetian War (1570-1573), also known as the Cyprus War, which started when Ottoman forces invaded the Venetian-held island of Cyprus. Perhaps the most famous event of the war was the Battle of Lepanto in which a combined Christian fleet cornered and destroyed the Ottoman fleet. Despite this significant victory, the Holy League forces failed to capitalize, and in the end they had to sue for peace and leave Cyprus to the Ottomans.
This work can be seen as closely related to the larger Italian Assembled-To-Order (IATO) atlases of the same period. While this work was generally more stable than many of those atlases, quite a few of the maps that appear in this book were also repurposed for larger "Lafreri school" atlases, most of the time with margins extended at the time.
The engraved title page features Mars and Neptune as well as vignettes of a land and sea battle. There is a later iteration (from the 17th century) of the title which revises the imprint line to read: "In Venetia Battista Scaluinoni format a S. Filippo et Giacomo".
In addition to its strong focus on the Mediterranean, the atlas also features maps of the British Isles, Ireland, and Iceland.
Publication
The work has a somewhat complicated publication history, born as it was out of earlier composite works and separate map publications. Gallo was under the impression that Ferrando and Donato Bertelli were responsible for the publication of the present edition of the atlas, but because they did not have access to all of Camocio's plates, commissioned Zenoi to make somewhat poorer copies of them for some of the maps. Then, after later taking over all of the Camocio plates, they exchanged them for the intermediate copies of Zenoi. Bifolco and Ronca suggest that Bertelli obtained the plates after Camocio's death and then printed them at the Sign of San Marco in Venice.
For an in-depth treatment of publication see Bifolco & Ronca, Volume I.
Rarity
Books under this title rarely appear on the market, and most that do are lacking a substantial number of plates and are termed "albums" rather than incomplete atlases. For instance, in 2020, a 39-map example sold at Aste Bolaffi for 8,750 euros ("Raro album di 39 carte e vedute che illustrano i luoghi delle guerre turco-veneziane").
In 2011, an example with 12 engraved maps and views was sold at Bonhams for 5,625 pounds.
The last complete example of the work to appear on the market was at Reiss und Sohn in 2009, where it sold for 58,000 euros.
An example with 78 plates sold at Sotheby's in 2005 for 26,400 pounds.
Provenance
Unidentified Swiss bookseller (typescript description onlaid to initial blank).
Maggs Bros., Ltd. (probably in the early 1970s)
Private collection, USA.
List of Maps and Plates
The following list of plates is matched against the integral numbering system on each of the plates. Where the numbering skips a note is included for a presumably missing plate. All plates are in the numbered (second) states.
- [Engraved title page]
- [Untitled engraved map of Africa, Europe, and part of Newfoundland]
- [Italy, by Camocio]
- Istria...
- [Polla Querrner]
- [Osero]
- Zarra et Contado...
- Sebenico...
- Sebenico antiquame...
- Sardona...
- Trau...
- Spallato...
- [Fortezza di Macarsca]
- Clissa...
- Liesena...
- Colfo de Lodrin...
- [Not present]
- [Not present]
- [Citta di Ragusi, Castel Novo, Citta di Cataro]
- Castel Novo
- [Castel Novo]
- Antiuari cita in confine della Dalmatia...
- Dulcigno...
- Provincia di Albania.
- [Scutari]
- Durazzo antiquamente...
- Valona
- Soppoto...
- [Margaritin]
- Fortezza di Margaritin nella Provincia della Cimera...
- [Greece]
- Morea...
- Corfu...
- Colfo della Preuesa...
- Sancta Maura...
- Fortezaa de S. Maura
- [Golfo di Lepanto]
- Il vero ordine delle... [Line of Battle at Lepanto]
- [Battle of Lepanto]
- Forma et Vero ritratto del pomo ouer Cimiero...
- Cefalonia...
- Zante...
- [Fortezza di Maina]
- Modon Citta nella Prouincia della Morea
- Ill Vero sitto... Modon...
- L'Arcipelago con il Stretto di Constantinopoli...
- Cerigo Insula
- Candia...
- [Santo Erini]
- Napoli...
- Milo insula...
- Scarpanto Carpanto antiquamente...
- Nicsia Nacso antiquame...
- Palmosa...
- Samo...
- Tine...
- Scio...
- [Citta di Scio]
- Negreponte Insula
- Citta di Negroponte
- Metelin...
- Stalimene
- Galipoli...
- Dardanelo...
- Dardanelo D Constantinopoli
- Constantinopoli, Citta principale del gran turcho... Duco Zenoi]
- Miracolo Apparso in Constantinopoli
- Rhodi Insula...
- Rodi Citta
- Cipro insula...
- Famagosta
- Nicossia
- Sicilia Insula
- [Valletta Nova Citta di Malta]
- [Il Vero Disego Della Citadi Tunisi E Biserta...]
- [Pianta del Novo Forte de Tunesi]
- Sardegna
- Corsica
- Ilba Sive Ilva...
- De Maiorica Insula...
- De Minorica Insula...
- Ingilterra et Scotia
- Irlanda.
- De Islandia Insula...
- Vienna...
- [Fortezza di Iavarin]
- Vero disegno di Giula...
- Ziget...