Italy - Cortina d'Ampezzo, Podestagno Castle, Finstermünz Pass / Tyrol; Matthäus Merian (1593 - 1650) - Die Vestung Podestagno / Paß Finstermüntz - 1621-1650

Splendid and rare original two-sided copper engraving dated to the mid-17th century, illustrating two of the most famous and inaccessible fortified military outposts of the Tyrolean Alps.
The upper view, titled "Die Vestung Podestagno oder Peitlstain", offers an extraordinary iconographic testimony of the Podestagno Castle, an ancient fortress perched on a calcariant rock overlooking the Boite river gorge, north of Cortina d'Ampezzo (now in Veneto, historically in Tyrol). This representation holds exceptional documentary value given the subsequent demolition of the structure, of which today only a few ruins remain.
The lower view, titled "Der Paß Finstermüntz", depicts with exceptional dramatic impact the fortified gorge of the Finstermünz Pass, a strategic customs and military crossing carved by the Inn river along the historic borders between Tyrol, Switzerland and the passes towards Alto Adige. The composition includes at the bottom right an explanatory alphabetic legend (A–F).
Both plates were masterfully engraved by the great Swiss-German master Matthäus Merian the Elder (1593 - 1650) and are drawn from the monumental geographic-descriptive work "Topographia Provinciarum Austriacarum: Austriae, Styriae, Carinthiae, Carniolae, Tyrolis etc.", published in Frankfurt am Main from 1649 in collaboration with Martin Zeiller.
Execution technique in refined copper-plate engraving with burin and aquatint on solid contemporary laid paper, printed in black and white. The preservation state is excellent, with superb, sharp inking and wide healthy margins. An extraordinarily interesting and rare piece, highly sought after by connoisseurs of Ampezzo vedutismo, Alpine fortifications, and Tyrolean history.

Dimensions 33 x 21 cm
Will be shipped by courier.