NOCERA UMBRA

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Nocera Umbra is a small town in Umbria at the foot of Monte Pennino, which Strabo called Nuceriam and which is famous for its wooden barrels [...]. At the foot of the mountain on which Nocera lies, the River Topino flows towards Foligno through a valley which is consequently called the Topinian Valley. On the banks of the river, one can still see many ruined houses and the foundations of large buildings that were erected there by the Romans to guard the Via Flaminia."

The view shows Nocera Umbra situated on a ridge in a mountainous landscape north of Foligno. Rising at the highest point of the well-fortified town is the cathedral and the 14th-century Campanaccio tower, formerly part of the Trinci fortress. Prominent on the right is the church of San Francesco, today home to the Nocera Umbra museum of art. In Roman times the town was known as Nuceria Camellaria and was of considerable importance due to its position on the Via Flaminia. In the 5th century AD, Nocera became a bishopric and formed part of the Papal States right until Italian Unification. Having been decimated on multiple occasions by the Goths, Lombards, and in the 13th century by Emperor Frederick II, the town was rebuilt from the mid-15th century. Sadly, in September 1997, the historical centre of Nocera Umbra was almost destroyed by an earthquake.

CASTELNUOVO DI PORTO

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Castelnuovo is a small town in the Apennine Mountains on the road leading toward Rome. The inhabitants are industrious and experienced in the wool, wine and oil trade. For Castelnuovo lies on fertile soil that yields grain, wine, oil, and other life necessities. It lies 12 miles from Rome on the Via Flaminia. [...] On the same road, one can see the town of Castellana high up on a cliff [...] on the left lies Monte Soratte, which Cato, Virgil and Strabo call mons Soracte, but which is today known as St Sylverster's Mount; because Pope Sylvester fled there for fear of Emperor Constantine."

In the foreground, Braun and Hoefnagel are travelling by horse and carriage along the ancient Via Flaminia from Nocera Umbra in the direction of Rome, past the towns of Castelnuovo di Porto, Cività Castellana (the ancient capital of the Falisci) and Monte Soratte. Behind the ramparts, the magnificent 15th-century Palazzo Ducale dominates the town centre. Rising proudly to the right is the bell tower belonging to the collegiate church of S. Maria Assunta. The "castrum novum" is first mentioned in records in 1074 as a benefice of the patriarchal basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. Castelnuovo acquired its epithet "di Porto" when it belonged to the diocese of Porto. According to legend Emperor Constantine sought out Pope Sylvester (d. 31 December 335), who had taken refuge on Mount Soracte, and upon receiving his Christian baptism, was cured of leprosy. This episode was related to the so-called Donation of Constantine, a document that proved to be a forgery by Lorenzo Valla as early as the 15th century. From the 12th to the 16th century, with some interruptions, Castelnuovo di Porto belonged to the Roman Colonna family; in 1539, after financial difficulties, it was acquired for the Camera Apostolica by Pope Paul III. (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.