Status Ecclesiastici magnique ducatus Florentini

Title

Status Ecclesiastici magnique ducatus Florentini

Description

Map shows central Italy, the whole of Tuscany with the cities of Pisa, Livorno, Bologna, Florence, Ferrara, Ravenna, Urbino, Siena, Orvieto, Spoleto, Rome, etc., the island of Elba and a magnificent cartridge.

ca. 1710

Artist

Homann (1664-1724)

Johann Babtiste Homann (1664-1724), Nuremberg, was born in Oberkammlach, the Electorate of Bavaria. Although educated at a Jesuit school, and preparing for an ecclesiastical career, he eventually converted to Protestantism and from 1687 worked as a civil law notary in Nuremberg. He soon turned to engraving and cartography; in 1702 he founded his own publishing house. Homann acquired renown as a leading German cartographer, and in 1715 was appointed Imperial Geographer by Emperor Charles VI. Giving such privileges to individuals was an added right that the Holy Roman Emperor enjoyed. In the same year he was also named a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. Of particular significance to cartography were the imperial printing privileges (Latin: privilegia impressoria). These protected for a time the authors in all scientific fields such as printers, copper engravers, map makers and publishers. They were also very important as a recommendation for potential customers. In 1716 Homann published his masterpiece Grosser Atlas ueber die ganze Welt (Grand Atlas of all the World). Numerous maps were drawn up in cooperation with the engraver Christoph Weigel the Elder, who also published Siebmachers Wappenbuch. Homann died in Nuremberg. He was succeeded by the Homann heirs company, which was in business until 1848. The company was known as Homann Erben, Homanniani Heredes, or Heritiers de Homann abroad.

Historical Description

Central Italy is the central section of the Italy peninsula, which is divided into northern Italy, central Italy and southern Italy. It stretches from the Apennine ridge between La Spezia and Rimini to the historic northern border of the Kingdom of Naples. The southern boundary today runs along the rivers Tronto and Garigliano after changes in the provinces in the 1920s. Central Italy is formed by the regions of Tuscany, Umbria, Marche and Lazio, whereby only Tuscany can be linguistically and culturally uniformly classified as Central Italy. Within these borders, central Italy also forms one of the five Italian macro regions. In ancient times, in northern Italy, unlike in southern Italy, there was hardly any Greek colonization. For the Roman Empire, Northern Italy was initially Gallia cisalpina. Since the Middle Ages, northern Italy has been characterized by remarkable trading cities, which, starting from the Veronese Confederation, united in the Lombardenbund against Emperor Barbarossa. The history of Italy, documented by written sources, begins only after the settlement by Italian peoples. Alongside them, the culture of the Etruscans, whose origin is unknown, was experienced around 600 BC. Their heyday. In the 8th century BC The Greek colonization of the southern Italian mainland and Sicily had begun, and Phoenicians settled on the west coast of the island. These colonies later belonged to Carthage. From the 4th century BC began the expansion of Rome. From the 5th century Italy came under the rule of Germanic tribes, the population declined drastically until around 650, and Ostrom briefly conquered the former core area of the empire in the 6th century. In the 8th century, the north, ruled by the Lombards for about two centuries, was annexed to the Franconian Empire, later to the Holy Roman Empire, while Arabs and Byzantines ruled in the south from the 11th century onwards. In most regions, feudalism prevailed in the early Middle Ages. The northern Italian municipalities, which came together in the Lombardenbund, were able to free themselves from the influence of the empire in the 12th and 13th centuries and establish their own territories. Of this multitude of territories, the most important were Milan, the sea powers Genoa and Venice, Florence and Rome, and the south of Italy, which was partly French and partly Spanish. After four centuries of fragmentation and foreign rule, the peninsula became politically united in the course of the Risorgimento national movement. The modern Italian state was founded in 1861.