CAPTION: Caprarola palace and the Farnese gardens. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "The magnificent, splendid and exceedingly beautiful palace of Caprarola lies roughly a comfortable day's journey from Rome, between Viterbo and Monterosa [...]. Cardinal Alexander Farnese had it built by one of the leading architects of our day, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, high on the top of the mountain, in the immediate vicinity of a town by the name of Caprarola, as somewhere to retreat from the summer heat. [...] Ultimately, the magnificence and splendour of Caprarola palace cannot be described in a single page; one could print an entire book about it." The magnificent palace of Caprarola, which is laid out in the shape of a pentagon on Monte Cimini, today lies in the Lago di Vico nature reserve. It was commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese - grandson of the notoriously nepotistic Pope Paul III - from the Bolognese architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola in 1559. Caprarola palace, also known as the Villa Farnese, is seen in cavalier perspective, allowing the viewer a partial glimpse into the circular inner courtyard of the massive pentagonal complex. Inside the courtyard are splendid colonnades, within which columned niches house the busts of Roman emperors. The magnificent gardens can also be admired in the engraving. The massive Villa Farnese is considered one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture. The building, which dominates the surrounding countryside, is characterized by its strict proportions and sparing ornamentation. After Farnese's death (1589) the villa passed to the Dukes of Parma and received little use. In the 19th century the villa served for a while as the residence of the heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Italy; today it is the occasional home of the Italian president. In 1580 Montaigne praised the building as the most beautiful palace in Italy, a compliment that probably inspired Braun and Hogenberg to include it in their city atlas. (Taschen).

Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.

The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the most excellent book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. Many plates were engraved after the original drawings of a professional artist, a professional artist, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600). The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, and the sixth in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel made those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.

Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and 1612. The subsequent volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on, and the French edition from 1575 on.

Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.

Georg Braun (1541-1622)

Georg Braun was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne, he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. 1561, he obtained his bachelor's degree, and in 1562, he received his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.

Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)

Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg.

By the end of the 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568, he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.

Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.