Subject: Valletta, Malta
Period: 1638 (circa)
Publication: Topographia
Color: Black & White
Size:
13.9 x 10.8 inches
35.3 x 27.4 cm
This stunning bird's-eye view of Malta's capital city features excellent detail of its famous fortifications and Baroque architecture. A key at top left identifies 41 sites of interest, including Saint John's Co-Cathedral, Grandmaster's Palace, and the Holy Infirmary. An inset map showing Malta and Gozo appears in a decorative cartouche at bottom right. There is a compass rose at right that orients the north to bottom right and includes at its center a small map of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, and Malta. A coat-of-arms completes the composition at bottom left.
References:
Condition: B+
A fine impression on a watermarked sheet with a few tiny holes along the centerfold at bottom that have been repaired on verso with archival materials. There are two damp stains and light soiling confined to the blank margins.