1841 Giuseppe Kier Plan of City Map of Venice, Italy

This is a beautiful 1841 Giuseppe Kier city map of Venice, featuring an array of superbly lithographed views.

A Closer Look

The plan includes a key naming of 197 specific structures, including churches, municipal, and military buildings. A separate letter key locates eight of Venice's theaters, as well as hotels and baths. Kier was a known lithographer of views, and this plan played to his strengths with its seven lively views of the monasteries of San Nicolò del Lido and San Lazzaro, the island of San Servolo, the church of Sant'Elena (two of the latter, one with a gondola in the foreground), the Castello S. Andrea, San Mich ele di Murano, and Murano Island.

This plan was influential and served as the basis for several later printed plans of the city - for example, Seiffert's popular cloth-printed souvenir map was derived from Kier's work.

Publication History and Census

The plan first appeared in print in 1838, with further editions in 1841 and 1851. We see five examples overall in institutional collections, none of which correspond to this 1841 example.