This gorgeous and informative set offers a comprehensive look at the Gallery of Maps in the Vatican. Pope Gregory XIII commissioned the gallery in 1580 as part of an initiative to decorate the Vatican with fine art. The friar and geographer Ignazio Danti crafted the forty panels which show the topography of Italy as well as views of major cities. This set includes three volumes hardbound in black cloth in a slipcase also made of black cloth. The first volume is a smaller slipcase encompassing removable, folded prints of each of the forty elegant maps, in full color and with an index of locations. The second volume is an atlas, showing the maps, close-up details, and the layout of the gallery, also in vivid color (595 pp.). The final volume features a number of essays on the gallery (534 pp.). All three volumes have both English and Italian text.

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Condition: A

Contents fine with minor soiling to the covers.