ARTISAN MAPS

Description:

Full title: "Veduta scenografica a ponente della Città di Napoli in Campagna Felice" with the "Spiegazione storiografica dell'antico e del moderno della città di Napoli". It represents sheets 24 through 27 of the Mappa topografica della città di Napoli e de' suoi contorni realized in 35 separate sheets by Giovanni Carafa Duca di Noja starting in 1750 and copper engraved by Professors Campana, Aloja e Lamarra. After Carafa's death in 1768,  Gio. Pignatelli Principe di Monterodumi completed the map which was further corrected and updated in 1775 by Architecture and Mathematics Professor Niccolò Carletti who added a lengthy "Historical explanation of ancient and modern". The full map is over 5 meters in length by 2.3 meters in height, on a graphic scale of 1:3808. The map covers well beyond the urban area and provides ample details of the countryside and of the sea and is unique among maps of European cities in the second half of the XVIII century. This map is regarded as a fundamental opus in understanding the level of civilization in Naples during the 18th century, dyring the reign of Kings carlo di Borbone and his son Ferdinando IV (to both of whom the map is dedicated).

The «Veduta scenografica a ponente della città di Napoli in campagna felice» is right in the middle of the map with a brief description and a legend on top with 44 different items. On the bottom there is a «Spiegazione storiografa dell’antico e del moderno della città di Napoli» with a rich legend and a brief history of the realization of the map. Artistically, this Veduta is characterized by the the head of a white horse in the lower right part.