FRANCO, GIACOMO: ISLAND OF HVAR

Inventory number 191

Original title: Ragusium et Constantinopolim: Icon Vrbis Lixinae

Publishing year: 1605

Place of publishing and publisher: Venezia

Format: 9,8 x 16,8 cm

Technique: Copper engraving

This map comes in all probability from one of the editions of Rosacco's isolaro “Viaggio da Venetia a Costantinopoli” or from some of its later re-works. It was modelled upon Bordone's isolario-style representation of island of Hvar of 1532. In this representation of the island Camocio’s attention was mostly placed on the town of Hvar, an important Venetian military port of that time. Above the town, whose urban structure is hardly recognizable, a fortress is shown. The bay of Hvar has oversized contours in proportion to its importance. In the foreground, can be seen the islands of Pakelni otoci, to the east are the island of Šćedro and the promontory Lovišće jutting into the sea out of the peninsula of Pelješac, as well as the northwest part of the island of Korčula. In the northern part of the island of Hvar Starigrad highlighted with palace symbol and the bay of Starigrad are shown. The topography of the island of Hvar is quite fictitious illustrated with roughly drawn and shaded molehills.

FRANCO, GIACOMO

Franco Giacomo (1550-1620) was a Venetian engraver and printmaker. He was active in Venice working for several publishers and around 1596 he started his own firm. He worked mostly with Giacomo Camocio and Giuseppe Rosaccio for whom he printed town views published in their isolarios. Most noted works printed by Franco are «Viaggio da Venetia a Constantinopoli» by Giuseppe Rosaccio, which comprises a number of views of Croatian towns on the Adriatic coast and a similar work titled «Descrittione geografica delle isole, citté, & fortezze prencipali, che si trouano in mare nel viaggio da Venetia a Costantinopoli».