Principato citra olim Picentia.

Title

Principato citra olim Picentia.

Description

Map shows Potenza in Campania with Naples, Salerno, Torre, Policastro Bussentino, Marsico Nuovo, Campagna, Muro Lucano and many more. Furthermore, two magnificent cartouches, a compass rose and two sailing ships.

ca. 1640

Artist

Blaeu (1571-1638)

Joan Guilliemus Blaeu was the eldest son of Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), and was probably born in Alkmaar in the province of Noord-Holland in the final years of the 16th century. He was brought up in Amsterdam, and studied law at the University of Leiden before going into partnership with his father in the 1630s. Although his father Willem had cartographic interests, having studied under the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and having manufactured globes and instruments, his primary business was as a printer. It was under the control of Joan that the Blaeu printing press achieved lasting fame by moving towards the printing of maps and expanding to become the largest printing press in Europe in the 17th century. By the 1660s the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (or Atlas Maior as it had became known by this time) had expanded to between 9 and 12 volumes, depending on the language. With over 3,000 text pages and approximately 600 maps, it was the most expensive book money could buy in the later 17th century. The translation of the text from Latin into Dutch, English, German, French, and Spanish for several volumes created enormous work for those involved in typography and letterpress activities. It is estimated that over 80 men must have been employed full-time in the Blaeu printing house in Bloemgracht, not including engravers who worked elsewhere, with over 15 printing presses running simultaneously, and in 1667 a second press was acquired at Gravenstraat. At the same time as producing the Atlas Maior, Blaeu was also publishing town plans of Italy, maps for globes, and other volumes. At its peak the Blaeu press managed to produce over 1 million impressions from 1,000 copper plates within four years.

Historical Description

Naples. The original Greek settlement was called Neapolis ("new town"). Later it came under Roman rule. From the late Middle Ages to the 18th century, Naples was one of the largest cities in Europe. Its political history is marked by foreign domination for long periods, and it was also the capital of southern Italian empires. The history of Campania in the 4th century BC was marked by the expansion of the rising Roman Empire. Some remains of both the Greek and Roman cities still exist. But as early as 568, the Lombards began to conquer Italy, and in 581 they occupied Benevento. The remaining Eastern Roman-Byzantine territories were directed and defended from the Exarchate of Ravenna, which in turn had ducats under its authority. One of these dukates became Naples in 661. The Normans, under Rainulf Drengot, had gained their own territory for the first time since 1027 with the county of Aversa, which lay to the north of Naples. In 1047, Emperor Henry III, accompanied by Pope Clement II, had advanced south to clarify the political situation in the Lombard principalities. In 1442, Spaniards, namely the Crown of Aragon under Alfonso, defeated the last ruler of the French Angevins, destroying large parts of the city and the belt of fortresses already incorporated by suburbs. Under the Aragonese, Naples' economic links with the Iberian Peninsula were intensified, the economy as a whole was boosted and the city became a centre of the Renaissance and humanism. The rule of the Spanish Habsburgs, which lasted until 1707, was interrupted for months by revolts and the proclamation of the Republic of Naples; these events are considered part of the "Crisis of the 17th Century" A marked improvement in conditions only occurred when the Bourbons, who had acquired the Spanish throne as a result of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1712, took over Naples from the Austrians in 1734 in the War of the Polish Succession. In view of Napoleon's successes in his Italian campaign, the royal family fled to Palermo in 1798. In January 1799, French revolutionary troops under General Jean-Étienne Championnet entered Naples. With Napoleon's downfall came the end of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Naples, and Ferdinand returned to Naples on 17 June 1815. Ferdinand carried out a ruthless restoration policy that eliminated even the last traces of French reform efforts.