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Fondi - Braun & Hogenberg, 1596/97.



Antique map - bird's-eye view of Fondi by Braun and Hogenberg.

Signed and dated bottom: Drawn by G. Hoefnagel in the year 1578.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Fondi, a town in the Roman Campagna, situated on the plain, is richly populated. The paved Via Appia passes through the town centre. To the east and north it is surrounded by mountains, to the south and west it lies on the sea. Those travelling to Formia see Lake Fondi on the right. Ferdinand, King of Aragon and Naples, awarded the town together with other to the excellent and brave Prince Prospero Colonna for his faithful services. In the year 1534 Hayreddin Barbarossa, the Turkish emperor's privateer, a sea admiral, caused the Fondani exceedingly great harm, for he took away all the inhabitants in slavery."

Fondi is shown in a view from the south in a pleasant location at the foot of the Ausoni Mountains, beside the Via Appia (B), some 20 km northwest of Gaeta. The fortifications, which in places date back to the 1st century BC, and the Castello Baronale dominate the townscape. To the left of the baronial castle lies the cathedral of San Pietro, originally a Gothic structure. Visible further left, behind the tower of San Pietro, is the square tower of Santa Maria in Piazza. In Aragonese possession in the 16th century, Fondi was given to the Colonna family as a fief. As the court of Giulia Gonzaga, who ruled in her own name after the death of her husband Vespasiano Colonna, Fondi blossomed into a centre of arts. In 1534 the Ottoman corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa attempted to take Giulia Gonzaga prisoner. When she succeeded is escaping, he massacred the inhabitants of the town. In 1594 Fondi was raided again, by the Saracens. This second attack marked the start of the town's decline. (Taschen)

Date of the first edition: 1596
Date of this map: 1596

Copper engraving
Size: 36.5 x 49cm (14.2 x 19.1 inches)
Verso text: Latin
Condition: Old coloured.
Condition Rating: A+
References: Van der Krogt 4, 1331; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p. 421.

From: Urbium Praeipuarum Mundi Theatrum Quintum Auctore Georgio Braunio Agrippinate. Part 5. Köln, 1596/97. (Van der Krogt 4, 41:1.5)

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