"Gattinara", Blaeu, Johannes

This is a superb bird's-eye view of the Italian Renaissance town of Gattinara with its surrounding vineyards and countryside. Gattinara is known for the fine red wine it produces. Three elaborate coats-of-arms embellish the map. This plan is from one of Blaeu's most impressive publishing efforts. The Theatrum Statuum was an ambitious project initiated by Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy in the 1660s and completed in the 1680s by the regent Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours. Its two volumes contained beautifully engraved plates accompanied by descriptions of the cities, towns and lands belonging to the Duchy of Savoy, which at that time included varying portions of Piedmont, the Aosta Valley, Savoy, Liguria and the area of Nice. The Duke of Savoy presented this elaborate work to other European courts as a unique sort of visiting card.

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Condition: B

Exquisite impression with a small tear and separation just entering the map at bottom centerfold, now repaired with archival tape.