Ferrara - Bertelli 1629

📜 Description
Engraved bird’s-eye view depicting the city of Ferrara, published by Ferrando Bertelli in Padua in 1629 as part of the collection Theatro delle città d’Italia. The composition represents the Este city according to a visual and cartographic layout consistent with early seventeenth-century Italian vedutistic production, emphasizing the fortified urban structure, the principal architectural landmarks, and the orderly arrangement of the city blocks. The graphic composition is distinguished by clarity and descriptive synthesis, with an articulated urban plan highlighting defensive walls, bastions, waterways, bridges, and the most significant religious and civic buildings. The engraved line, sharp and analytical, provides an orderly and immediately legible representation of the city, balancing documentary purpose with visual effectiveness. The elevated perspective and geometric organization of the urban fabric reflect the descriptive and strategic approach typical of early modern Italian city views. A representative example of seventeenth-century Italian cartographic and vedutistic production, the engraving belongs to the tradition of descriptive urban representation, constituting a significant testimony to the visual documentation of Italian cities during the Baroque period.

📚 Historical-Artistic Note
Ferrando Bertelli was among the publishers and engravers active in northern Italy during the seventeenth century, known for disseminating illustrated collections dedicated to the principal cities of the Italian peninsula. The work belongs to the Theatro delle città d’Italia, conceived as an iconographic repertory of important Italian urban centres. Publications of this type, intended for a cultivated and curious audience, testify to the growing interest in the systematic representation of cities within the cultural context of the Baroque age.

🧾 Technical Details
Type: Bird’s-eye city view
Author: Ferrando Bertelli
Engraver(s): —
Publisher: Ferrando Bertelli
Place: Padua
Date: 1629
Material: Paper
Technique: Etching
Decoration: Urban view with architectural and defensive elements
Dimensions:
Sheet: 14 × 20.5 cm
Plate: 12.5 × 17.5 cm
Notes: From Theatro delle città d’Italia (...)

🔍 Condition Report
Sheet in excellent overall condition. No significant defects noted. The engraved surface remains well inked and clearly legible. Italian text on verso.