AP OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF ZADAR AND ŠIBENIK

Inventory number 555

Original title: Vera et fidelis descriptio comitatus Zara et Sebenici: uti impressa est olim Venetiia a Paulo Forlano

Publishing year: 1593

Place of publishing and publisher: Venetia

Format: 21 x 13 cm

Technique: Coloured copper engraving

This regional map shows part of the central Dalmatian land and islands, with the hinterland of Zadar and Šibenik. Forlani was familiar with the Venetian maps of the Zadar-Šibenik environment, such as Pagano's or Rota's works. His map shows Zadar and its coast, from the island of Pag (Pago) in the west (Occidens) to Drniš (Dernisi) in the east (Oriens). The northern boundary of the depicted area is the coastal side of the Dinaric ridge, to the line marking Plješevica (Monte plisiua). The larger fortified cities (Zadar (Zara), Nin (Nona), Šibenik and Knin (Tina) are depicted as coloured panoramic plans, even of recognizable architectural, most often fortified forms, which is unusual for a map of such a small scale. The military-strategic informative nature of this map, created in the midst of the Ottoman-Venetian wars, is evidenced by fairly detailed accounts of smaller fortifications in the hinterland. The author omitted the border divisions or data referencing the territorial division between the warring sides. The relief is stylized and shown with shaded molehills, and the hydrography, especially the Krka and Zrmanja flows, is overstated. The bottom corner shows the signature of the author J. Deutecum (Ioannes a Dotinchum f.). The map is very similar to Forlani's eponymous and earlier version of larger format from 1570 (La vera et fidelle discritione....), but also to the half-a-century younger Merian map of the same area (Tafel der Stätte…, inv. no. 67). This version was published in the Speculum Orbis Terrae atlas by Cornelis De Jode. Both maps were created using map templates of the Zadar-Šibenik hinterland by Martin Rota Kolunić from 1570, and Natale Bonifacio from 1575. With the latter, this map shares a note on the ruins (Bergane) west of Knin.

DE JODE, GERARD

GERARD DE JODE (1509-1591), a famous Dutch graphic artist, printer, publisher and cartographer. While he was preparing his world atlas, from 1555 de Jode was also issuing single maps: in 1560 he published Jacob Gastaldi's Great World Map, in 1563 the Map of Portugal, in 1564 Ortelius' World Map, and in 1569 a series of maps of German regions. Then Ortelius and de Jode had become tough business rivals. But, although he was 18 years older, de Jode was never that businesslike publisher as Ortelius. De Jode published in 1578 his atlas "Speculum Orbis Terrarum", only eight years after the "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum", Ortelius having obtained a monopoly for that period. The atlas was issued in 2 volumes. The first one contained 27 maps of various states and regions, while the 38 maps of the second volume entitled "Geographicum Germaniae Imperium Repraesentants" represents the German territories. Due to the predominance of Ortelius' issues, during de Jode's life, only two issues of his atlas were published (the second one in 1579). On his death, his son, CORNELIS DE JODE (1568-1600) completed his father's work and was published it in 1593. The new atlas comprising 83 maps was entitled "Speculum Orbis Terrae" . Now, de Jode's atlas is extremely rare (only 12 examples are known).