Scarce first state of this rare Lafreri-school Sicilia map
Sicily by Donato Bertelli. c. 1570-80
Donato Bertelli (Active in Venice 1558 - 1592)
Printer, cartographic publisher and mapseller 'Alla libreria del segno S. Marco in Mezzaria'. In 1559, he worked in the workshop of Fernando Bertelli and signed 'In Venetia appresso Donato Bertelli libraro al segno del S. Marco'. Upon Ferrando's death, Donato inherited his plates and published them by replacing the name, as he did with some plates of Forlani and Camocio.
Giacomo Gastaldi (c. 1500 – 1566)
Giacomo Gastaldi was born in Villafranca, in Piedmont, to a wealthy family. Although he is considered one of the greatest cartographers of the sixteenth century, the events of his life and his professional training in the field of cartography are unknown to us until he arrives in Venice, where, in 1539, he obtained a perpetual printing privilege from the Venetian Senate.
One of the first Venetian contacts took place with the geographer and humanist Giovanni Battista Ramusio, with whom he collaborated. At the beginning of the 1540s, Gastaldi was already an established cartographer and began to work on a series of maps first published separately and then included in the Italian edition of Ptolemy's Geography of 1548 and others made from scratch.
By the 1540s, he had developed his distinctive style of copper engraving for his increasingly prolific output of maps. His maps were used as a source by many mapmakers, including Camocio, Bertelli, Forlani, Ramusio, Cock, Luchini and Ortelius.
With the support of his influential friendships, Gastaldi also obtained public positions: in 1549, the Council of Ten commissioned him to make a large map of Africa, for a wall from the armoury in the Doge's Palace and, again for the same room, one map of Asia and one of North America.
It is difficult to quantify the number of maps he produced; more than a hundred have been attributed to him.
Paolo Forlani collaborated for a long time with Gastaldi and published numerous counterfeits and not authorized editions.
Gastaldi died in Venice on 14 October 1566.
Isola de Sicilia.
Item Number: 31413 new Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > Italy
Sicily by Donato Bertelli.
So-called 'Lafreri School Map' - https: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafreri_atlases
Title: Isola de Sicilia.
Donato Berteli formis.
Cartographer: Giacomo Gastaldi.
Date: c. 1570-80.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Image size: 360 x 455mm (14¼ x 18 inches).
Sheet size: 515 x 675mm (20¼ x 26½ inches).
Verso: Blank.
Condition: Trimmed to the engraved border and inlaid to fit in an atlas (as often), excellent.
Condition Rating: A+.
Separate publication.
Donato Bertelli (Active in Venice 1558 - 1592)
Printer, cartographic publisher and mapseller 'Alla libreria del segno S. Marco in Mezzaria'. In 1559, he worked in the workshop of Fernando Bertelli and signed 'In Venetia appresso Donato Bertelli libraro al segno del S. Marco'. Upon Ferrando's death, Donato inherited his plates and published them by replacing the name, as he did with some plates of Forlani and Camocio.
Giacomo Gastaldi (c. 1500 – 1566)
Giacomo Gastaldi was born in Villafranca, in Piedmont, to a wealthy family. Although he is considered one of the greatest cartographers of the sixteenth century, the events of his life and his professional training in the field of cartography are unknown to us until he arrives in Venice, where, in 1539, he obtained a perpetual printing privilege from the Venetian Senate.
One of the first Venetian contacts took place with the geographer and humanist Giovanni Battista Ramusio, with whom he collaborated. At the beginning of the 1540s, Gastaldi was already an established cartographer and began to work on a series of maps first published separately and then included in the Italian edition of Ptolemy's Geography of 1548 and others made from scratch.
By the 1540s, he had developed his distinctive style of copper engraving for his increasingly prolific output of maps. His maps were used as a source by many mapmakers, including Camocio, Bertelli, Forlani, Ramusio, Cock, Luchini and Ortelius.
With the support of his influential friendships, Gastaldi also obtained public positions: in 1549, the Council of Ten commissioned him to make a large map of Africa, for a wall from the armoury in the Doge's Palace and, again for the same room, one map of Asia and one of North America.
It is difficult to quantify the number of maps he produced; more than a hundred have been attributed to him.
Paolo Forlani collaborated for a long time with Gastaldi and published numerous counterfeits and not authorized editions.
Gastaldi died in Venice on 14 October 1566.