This is one
of the most decorative maps of the whole of the Aegean Sea. The general shape
of the islands are reminiscent of the German scholar Johann Laurenberg’s maps
issued by the great Dutch publishing houses such as those by Blaeu and Jansson
while the shape of Crete is based on the map by Boschini issued in 1651. However,
while similar, there are distinct differences in the nomenclature and often the
shape of the coastlines of the islands, suggesting that the editor of the work,
Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola, accessed multiple sources of information as
opposed to just deriving his work from Laurenberg.

The engraving
is in the inimitable Italian style pioneered by Rossi’s workshop and the
cartouche, in the form of a shell flanked by a mythical male and female figure
whilst being borne by sea monster rising from the waters is very much Rossi’s
own.

Original
colour. Left margin extended without loss of image. [GRC1898]