1751 Daniele Farlati Map of Ancient Salona (Solin, Croatia)

This is Daniele Farlati's rare 1751 bird's eye view of ancient Salona, now Solin, in Croatia. Though now a suburb of Split, in the 5th century it was the capital not only of the Roman province of Dalmatia but also the seat of Julius Nepos, the last western Roman Emperor, making it the de facto capital of the Western Roman Empire. By that time, Salona had also become a key early center for Christianity. So, the city was a primary focus for the first two volumes of Farlati's ecclesiastical history of Illyricum.

A Closer Look

Oriented to the north, the view presents early Christian Salona near the end of the Western Roman Empire, during which time the city was flourishing. By the 5th century, the bishop of Salona was made Metropolitan of all Dalmatia. Thus, the map presents the accouterments of a Roman capital (an arena, theaters, triumphs, forums) alongside early church buildings. The Shrine of Our Lady - here named Aedes Mariana - can be seen in the delta of the Jadro River at the east extreme of the map. (The river here is referred to as the Salona River, a term still used by locals.) West of the shrine and south of the arena is a Romanesque church.

Much of the depiction of the city would have been, by necessity, a work of imagination and historical re-creation: the ancient city was destroyed in the 7th century by the Avars and Croats before Farlati and his fellow researchers were there in the 18th century. However, the physical presentation of the area suggests first-hand familiarity. At the bottom of the sheet appears the eastern end of the Kastenski Zaljev, with sailing ships and galleys navigating it. A peninsula - here named Uragniza, corresponds with modern Vranjic. The now uninhabited island of Barbarinac also appears.

Publication History and Census

This copperplate engraving was executed for inclusion in the 1751 first volume of Daniele Farlati's Illyrici sacri, which appears to have been published in a single edition. We see 20 examples of the volume cataloged in institutional collections. We see none of Farlati's separate maps listed in OCLC, and no record on the market.