Italy - Lombardy, Milan, Pavia, Piacenza, Alessandria, Lodi; Blaeu - Territorio di Pavia, Lodi, Novarra, Tortona, Alessandria et altri vicini dello Stato di Milano - 1643

Technical sheet

Original title Territorio di Pavia, Lodi, Novarra, Tortona, Alessandria and other nearby states of Milan
Author Joan Blaeu (1596–1673), within the Blaeu family cartographic production.
Designer and engraver Not indicated. Cartographic design derived from the model of Giovanni Antonio Magini.
Publisher Officina cartografica Blaeu.
Place and date Amsterdam, 1643.
Technique Engraving in copperplate on copper, with manual color wash for borders, urban vignettes and ornamental devices.
Support Vellum paper.
Dimensions Sheet 58 × 50 cm. Plate 38.5 × 49.5 cm.
Composition Double-page atlas plate, with a vertical center fold. On the verso, text in French entitled Estat de Milan, with page number 26 and signature "V".
Work provenance Le Théâtre du Monde ou Nouvel Atlas, French edition.
Current regions represented Lombardy, Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna, with the Piacenza sector.
Historical states and territories represented Duchy of Milan under the Spanish Crown, with Milanese, Pavese, Lomellina, Lodigiano, Novarese, Tortonese, Alessandrino and part of Cremonese. Marginally appear the Vercellese of the Duchy of Savoy, part of the Duchy of Monferrato, the Cremasco of the Republic of Venice and the Piacentino of the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza.

Description

Map of the southern part of the State of Milan and the neighboring territories, extended from Vercelli and Casale Monferrato to Cremona and Piacenza. The Po River crosses the map from west to east and governs the reading. To the north the plain unfolds with Milan, Novara, Pavia and Lodi, while to the south, beyond Voghera, Tortona and Alessandria, the relief thickens towards the Apennines. The Ticino and other Po tributaries traverse a dense network of villages, castles and fortified centers. The main cities are depicted with vignettes of varying design and size, while the color wash bands render the territorial boundaries legible.
In the lower right corner, the title is enclosed in a cartouche topped by a crowned female figure and flanked by animals, including a deer and some hares. At the base is engraved the scale of nine Italian miles. The wide calligraphic inscriptions of the Cremasco, Piacentino and Monferrato distinguish the peripheral areas from the dense fabric of toponyms.

Historical-artistic note

The plate reproduces the regional model of Giovanni Antonio Magini, reworked by the Blaeu workshop for the European audience of seventeenth-century atlases. The map documents a political geography different from today. Novara, Tortona and Alessandria, today in Piedmont, belonged then to the State of Milan, while Cremasco was subject to the Republic of Venice. The French text on the verso accompanies the map with a description of the government, resources and defenses of the Milanese state.

Condition Report

Good overall state of conservation, with wide margins and a clearly readable impression. Central editorial crease marked, with slight paper waviness and a band of darker tone along the fold. Light irregular browning and small scattered stains, more evident at the margins, particularly in the lower one. Coloration clearly legible. Verso with printed French text.