CARTOUCHE: Very rich Vicenza, a city in the province of Tarvisium (Treviso).

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The city itself is very beautiful and adorned by stately buildings, of which the town hall on the market square and the Dominican priory of the Friars Minor are the most elegant and the handsomest. A thorn from the Crown of Thorn worn by Christ our Saviour can be seen in the priory church, which Bartholomew Vicentius, bishop of this city and a Dominican friar from France, brought with him since it had been given to him by St Louis, king of France. This thorn is the relic most venerated by Vincentines and is carried about in the city each year with the greatest of veneration. There is also a noble library in the above-mentioned priory."

The city is seen from the north in a bird's-eye view. At the centre is the Piazza dei Signori with the nearly 80-m-high Torre di Piazza. To the right is the Basilica Palladiana, originally a Gothic palace (Palazzo della Ragione), of which little remains since it underwent extensive renovation in magnificent Renaissance style in the 16th century as did the adjacent buildings. The detailed depiction of the buildings and the rather sketchy street map are deceptive and do not do justice to the size and magnificence of this densely built city. Originally founded by the Euganei, Vicenza became Roman in 177 BC. In 1404 the city passed to Venice, as indicated by the winged lion on the left-hand edge of the main square. Many of the earlier buildings were either remodelled or rebuilt by Andrea Palladio in the second half of the 16th century, including the superb Piazza dei Signori complex. (Taschen)

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.

He was the compiler of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum, 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 of the plates were engraved after the original drawings of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), a professional artist. The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, and the sixth volume 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 following 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.