Das Ander Buch / Der Insel Ilva oder Elba Beschreibung und Gelegenheit dem Herzog von Florentz z gehörig so Anno 1555 von dem Türcken ist beschediget

Title

Das Ander Buch / Der Insel Ilva oder Elba Beschreibung und Gelegenheit dem Herzog von Florentz z gehörig so Anno 1555 von dem Türcken ist beschediget

Map shows the Italian island of Elba in 1555 with the towns of Capoliveri, Marciana, "Senosa", "Feralo", "Wacht", "S Adrian" and the fortress Foret Falcone. On the reverse the illustration of the "Warhaffte abcontrafactur der Insel Serbe sampt ihrer fruchtbarkeit."

ca. 1560

Artist

Münster (1489-1552)

Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) was a leading Renaissance cosmographer. His most famous work, the Cosmographia (1544), was a comprehensive description of the world with 24 maps, based on research dating back to 1528. Continuously revised, the 1550 edition already included many new maps. It was the first scientific yet accessible world description published in German, illustrated with numerous woodcuts by artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger. Between 1544 and 1650, the Cosmographia appeared in 46 editions (27 in German) and was translated into several languages. Münster’s work combined the knowledge of scholars, artists, and travelers and remained influential long after his death.

Historical Description

The oldest people known by name who lived on the island of Elba were the Ilvates, a tribe of Ligurian origin. From about 750 BC, Elba was under the increasing influence of the Etruscans, who were interested in the extensive iron ore deposits. In 246 BC, the Romans conquered the island, which belonged to the Roman Empire or its successor empires for about 800 years. The Romans named the island Ilva. At the end of the 6th century the Longobards arrived on Elba. Their presence is evidenced by place names of Longobard origin. In 1015, the Pope commissioned the emerging naval power of Pisa to protect Elba from Saracen attacks. In the 13th century Elba was repeatedly attacked by Genoa, Pisa's greatest rival. In 1399 the then ruler of Pisa Gherardo Appiano sold the Pisan state to the Duke of Milan Gian Galeazzo Visconti, but in the process retained Piombino, the island of Elba and other, smaller territories for himself. In 1593 Piombino was elevated to a principality. The island of Elba was temporarily occupied by Great Britain in connection with the Revolutionary Wars and was granted to France in 1802. In the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814, the island was transferred as a sovereign principality to Napoleon, who abdicated as Emperor of the French on the same day. Napoleon landed on Elba on May 4, 1814, and undertook extensive reforms here as ruler over a population of about 10,000. As early as February 1815, however, he fled again from his exile on the island of Elba and returned to France. At the Congress of Vienna, Elba was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and, together with it, became part of the united Kingdom of Italy in 1860.