Mantova - J. Hondius 1627

📜 Description
Original city view of Mantua, published in Leiden in 1627 in *Nova et Accurata Italiae Hodiernae Descriptio* by Jodocus Hondius. The engraving depicts the city from an elevated panoramic perspective, emphasizing its distinctive insular configuration surrounded by the waters of the Mincio River and protected by an extensive defensive system. The composition clearly illustrates the urban layout, city walls, gates, bridges, and principal architectural landmarks, while the surrounding landscape is characterized by lakes, waterways, sailing vessels, cultivated fields, and small settlements. The engraved title *Mantova* and the editorial reference “fol. 304” identify the plate within the geographical publication. The image fulfills a documentary and descriptive function, providing a concise yet effective representation of the Lombard city and its unique relationship with the surrounding aquatic environment. Executed in etching on paper and accompanied by printed Latin text on the verso, this antique print constitutes a significant testimony to Dutch urban cartography and topographical illustration of the early seventeenth century.

📚 Historical and Artistic Note
Jodocus Hondius (1563–1612) was among the most influential European cartographers, engravers, and publishers of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. His works, continued by his heirs and collaborators, played a major role in the dissemination of modern geographical knowledge throughout Europe. The editions published by the Elsevier family in Leiden represent some of the finest achievements of Dutch geographical and typographical culture during the seventeenth century.

🧾 Technical Details
Type: Original city view
Author: Jodocus Hondius
Publisher / Printer: Bonaventura Elsevier
Place: Leiden
Date: 1627
Material: Paper
Technique: Etching
Title / Subject: *Mantova*
Edition: From *Nova et Accurata Italiae Hodiernae Descriptio*
Dimensions: Sheet 22 × 27 cm; engraved area 18 × 25 cm

🔍 Condition Report
Sheet in very good overall condition. Light age toning of the paper consistent with the period. Crisp and well-defined engraved impression. Verso with printed Latin text. Overall preservation is very good.