Giovanni Francesco Camocio (active in Venice between 1552 and 1575)

Giovanni Francesco Camocio, Venetian publisher and engraver, was born in the first half of the 16th century, probably in Asolo (Treviso). He then moved to Venice, where his publishing activity has been registered since 1552. He was the owner of the bookshop Al segno della Piramide (At the sign of the Pyramid) in San Lio in Merceria, where his main activity was the sale of prints and engravings, engraved reproductions of works of art and geographical maps. Camocio was one of the most significant publishers of the time, the presence of his name on many papers and prints, and his numerous requests for privilege testify to his intense activity. It included subjects deriving from great artists such as Titian and Michelangelo, views of cities, fortresses and geographic maps. For the realization of these maps, he used the collaboration of famous engravers and cartographers, among them, Domenico Zenoi, Paolo Forlani, Giacom Gastaldi and others. Many small-format papers were published loose between 1566 and 1574, which went on to form the volume known as Isole famose (famous islands). The drawing of a pyramid on four spheres, resting on a pedestal with the inscription Prudentia perpetuat and the head of a snake represents the typographic mark used by him. It is assumed that the publisher died around 1575 because, after this date, which then corresponds with the spread of a severe plague in Venice, there is no more news of his activity.