This rare bird's-eye view is a close copy of Paolo Forlani's engraving, which is one of the earliest obtainable plans of Tripoli. The view shows the environs of the fortified port of Tripoli with numerous castles, towers, and men on horseback in the countryside, while various ships sail in the port and Mediterranean. A compass rose orients north to the top left of the sheet.

Paolo Forlani was one of the leading cartographers of the Lafreri-School, which was not actually a school, but a group of cartographers, mapmakers, engravers and publishers who worked in the major Italian publishing centers of Rome and Venice, from about 1544 to 1585.

References:

Condition: B+

A dark impression on a watermarked sheet with light printer's ink residue, three small worm holes in the image at left, and light toning and soiling along the edges of the sheet. The left margin is a bit narrow, but still sufficient for framing.