"Fori Iulii Accurata Descriptio", Ortelius, Abraham

Fine map covers the region from Venice north to the Italian Alps and east to Trieste and Istri, with a good view of Venice floating on several islands in its protected lagoon. The sheet is embellished with a large sea monster, ships, a wind compass and four strapwork cartouches. The map was based on the cartography of Johannes Sambucus, which was in turn based on an anonymous Venetian map of Friuli from the 1560's. This example is the first state with Latin text on verso, published in 1579.

References: Van den Broecke #119.

Condition: A

A sharp impression with full contemporary color on a bright sheet with the crossed arrows watermark commonly found on Ortelius maps. There is one minute hole along the centerfold, an old paper repair in the bottom margin on recto, and a bit of marginal soiling. The green pigment has browned, but the paper is still supple.