Coronelli's Magnificent Map of Dalmatia

"Ristretto della Dalmazia Divisa ne Suoi Contadi, gia Presentata alla Serenissima Republica di Venezia, etc.", Coronelli, Vincenzo Maria

This spectacular two-sheet map centers on the historical region of Dalmatia in Croatia and extends north to the Istria region and south to Albania. There is excellent topographical detail, with mountains, rivers, and various types of forests depicted alongside myriad place names. Notes in Italian on the history and topography of the region are scattered throughout the map. Text at bottom notes Venetian victories against the Ottoman Empire in the Great Turkish War, still ongoing when this map was first published. There is a large and elaborate title cartouche at top right and an exquisite vignette at bottom left that features the Doge of Venice being hoisted across the Adriatic by a band of merfolk, putti, and hippocamps. In another vignette on the opposite sheet, the Dalmatian coat of arms is held aloft by merfolk. North is oriented to the left. The map comes from Coronelli's Isolario Descrittione Geografico-Historica..., the second part of his massive Atlante Veneto published in 1696-97. Coronelli established the society of geographers "Accademia degli Argonauta", one of the oldest in the world, and became the official geographer of the Venetian Republic. His maps of the Adriatic Sea were of particular strategic and economic importance and were also often used to glorify Venice and its victories over the Turks.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.CORO-13a #42.

Condition: B+

A fine impression on watermarked paper with a very faint damp stain along the upper centerfold and a few short edge tears at top left that have been closed on verso with archival material.