The Gallery of Maps in the Vatican - European Travel Books

Hardcover - October, 1997 - George Braziller
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By: Lucio Gambi, Francoise Pouncey Chiarini, Lucio Gambi and Francoise Pouncey Chiarini
ISBN: 0807614254

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About this book

When in Rome, do as Pope Gregory XIII did, and steep yourself in the early history of Italy through a series of 40 intricate, charming maps designed by Egnazio Danti in 1580 for the Vatican Palace. According to Lucio Gambi, the author of this definitive text, Danti "was assisted by a throng of painters and stuccoworkers" in completing the work. The maps, which line a mammoth 20-by-400-foot hallway, are more like bird's-eye views, with sailing ships, soldiers' tents, medieval battlements, and cypress trees dotting the hillsides. An anonymous poet, celebrating the gallery's opening, wrote, "Each region is placed under its ruling planet and occupies an entire panel which shows the cities, castles, and villages with their streets and houses huddled together. Neither are the rivers forgotten, nor the springs, steep valleys and gentle hills, the green shade of the woods, the windswept shores, and the green expanses of sea that truly seem to move...." Danti, a Dominican monk, cosmographer, and mathematician, moved from Bologna to Rome to prepare the cartoons for the 40 maps, which show not only Italian cities and provinces, but also historic battles and sieges. This book documents the gallery as a whole but also includes scores of details. With their white-capped waves, meandering streams, sailing ships, and limpid sunrises, the plates inspire hours of perusal. While the essay is too dense for children, the pictures would be fascinating to anyone with a taste for fortresses and ships at sea, whatever his or her age. --Peggy Moorman

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Reviews by readers

An Amazing Renaissance View of Italy

Although this book does not have detailed views of every map in the Gallery of Maps, it gives the reader the opportunity to study the 40 frescoes in a way not possible when visiting the Vatican. (Most tour groups are rushed through the hall on the way to the Sistene Chapel.) The color plates are true to the vibrant originals and the essays accompanying each map help the reader to understand the iconography. Anyone who loves cartography or European history, will want this book on their shelf.

Renaissance building houses beautiful maps of Italy

In 1580 Pope Gregory XIII commissioned this gallery with 42 large panels that represent Italy. Maps on the right side show the Adriatic side of the peninsula; those on the left side show the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian coasts. The quality of the paper and reproductions is excellent. Each map is discussed, and close-ups show the art and craft of the cartographers and artists. The author claims that this is the largest cycle of geographic images in Europe. This is a book to linger with; no matter your nationality, it may make you homesick.

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