1701 De Wit map of Northern Italy during the War of Spanish Succession

This is a beautiful, original color example of Frederick de Wit's c. 1701 map of the region controlled by the Republic of Venice. While the map was initially engraved as early as 1682, this is an amended state of the map showing many changes - some noting changes to the wetlands at the mouth of the River Po, and some recording the opening battles of the War of Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714).

Prince Eugene's Invasion of Italy

The features added to the present map include major roads connecting cities: specifically, it indicates 'the road by which the Imperial army entered Italy'. This latter runs through Verona into the Duchy of Ferrara, from Bergamo and Milan, the route peppered with fortifications. This was the path taken by the Imperial commander, Prince Eugene of Savoy in 1701. Eugene had already won fame by leading his army through the Alps at Castiglione to open the campaign. The first battle of the War of the Spanish Succession, the Battle of Carpi is marked on the map (July 9, 1701). The following battle of Chiari (September 1) is also indicated. No battle is marked at Cremona (January 31- February 1, 1702), suggesting that the amendments to the map took place between September 1701 and January 1702. Although Eugene failed to hold Cremona, he did capture the French Marshal there, and that would have been a coup worthy of noting here.

The Changing Wetlands Noted

In addition to the martial elements noted above, the region between Ferrara and Ravenna focusing on the lagoon of the Valle di Comacchio has been entirely reworked. This area is very different in the earlier c. 1689 state of this map. Efforts to control rivers upstream - for example, Bologne's 1693 raising of the banks of the Reno River - impacted the downstream wetlands of the Comacchio. Among the changes between the early state of this map and the present are several canals allowing ships from the upper Po to bypass the wetlands and reach the Gulf of Venice.

The Cartouche

The cartouche is one of the areas in which this map was significantly reworked over the plate's life. Here, it is attended by a quartet of putti: one brandishes a sword, another a bludgeon, and another placates a lion (the symbol of Venice.) The cartouche is framed with the coats of arms of Venice, and the duchies of Parma, Modena, Mantua, Mirandola, and Massa. The shield assigned the duke of Guastalla is blank, perhaps an indication of his vacillation in the conflict: he would not swear allegiance to the emperor until after the battle of Cremona. Thus, the changes occurring to the cartouche were not merely decorative, but political, and reflected the topicality of the map itself.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared for publication in De Wit's Atlas in about 1682, under the title Accuratissima domini Veneti in Italia, ducatus Parmae, Placentiae Modenae regii et Mantuae episcopatusq. There are at least four states. A likely second state, with the title changed to 'Dominii Veneti in Italia in Partes Accurat divisi…' appeared between 1689 and 1700. In addition to the changed title, this state showed a significant reworking of the cartouche, the pictorial mountains throughout, and included the addition of the 'Notarum Explicatio' in the lower right. The present example represents a likely third state, dating no earlier than September 1701. On it all but one of the coats of arms on the cartouche are filled. Also, it includes the material changes to the map noted in the description above, and extends the 'Notarum ' to note the war-related features. At least one further state is known under the imprint of Covens and Mortier and dating about 1721 and it does not appear to include further significant changes. We have seen reports of a 1706 Christopher Browne impression but have not examined such.