Italy - Ferrara; Gabriel Bodenehr il Vecchio (1664–1758). - FERRARA (Veduta prospettica a volo d'uccello della città fortificata di Ferrara e della sua - 1721-1750

Refined 18th-century bird's-eye view of the fortified city of Ferrara, entirely ringed by its mighty bastioned walls and the surrounding moat. On the left stands the imposing star-shaped pentagonal fortress of the Cittadella (erected by Pope Paul V in 1608), while along the lower edge flows the branch of the Po River (Der Po) crossed by boats, with the fortified village and the island of Sant’Antonio (Retrenchment). At the top center dominates the title FERRARA on a red ribbon cartouche. Inside the town one can clearly recognize the Castello Estense in the center with the moat, the Duomo, the broad Renaissance streets of the Addizione Erculea, and the gardens. To the left and right, within the copperplate’s frame, are inscribed two wide columns of historical-descriptive text in German and an alphabetical legend (letters from a to y) identifying the main buildings and religious sites of the city.

State of preservation

• Engraving and Coloring. Excellent impression, sharp and well contrasted, enhanced by a pleasant hand-watercolor coloring that distinguishes the red roofs, the ramparts and countryside in green, and the waterways in blue.