Description

Seltene Vogelschauansicht zeigt Augsburg mit 99 berühmtesten Gebäuden. Die Radirung wurde gemacht von Paolo Forlani und herausgegeben in De disegni delle più illustri città von Giulio Ballino in Venedig 1569.

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Uncommon bird’s eye view shows Augsburg with its 99 most important buildings.

The present map was first published in Paolo Forlani’s rare work Il Primo Libro Delle Citta, Et Fortezze Principali Del Mondo (Venice, 1567). This example appeared in Giulio Ballino’s De’ Disegni delle più belle illustri città e fortezze del Mondo (Venice, Zaltieri 1569).

As noted by Albert Ganado: “The Forlani town books are among the rarest items in cartographic literature… The copper plates of the Forlani-Zenoi books were apparently dispersed soon after their publication in 1567. This would explain, on the one hand, why their town book did not run into several editions, and, on the other hand, why maps from those plates continued appear in other atlases” (Ganado, The Forlani-Zenoi town books of 1567).

Paolo Forlani (fl. 1560-74) was one of the leading mapmakers of the ‘Lafreri School’ of Italian cartography.  Originally from Verona, Forlani settled in Venice where he was variously associated with Francesco Camocio, Bolognino Zaltieri and Claudio Duchetti.

References: R.V. Tooley, Maps in Italian Atlases of the Sixteenth Century, 116.