Roma Vetus - Plan des Antiquitez de Rome Representees et Distinguees Suivant la Situation de Chacun de ses Anciens Monuments

Map of ancient Rome, oblique projection, oriented with the north to the left.

It is a Dutch derivation of the archaeological map of Ambrogio Brambilla of 1582, amended by additions of monuments. According to Scaccia Scarafoni and Caldana the map would be published for the first time in 1706, in the "Noueveau memories de Mr. Nodot..." by Francois Nodot, but we believe it is an oversight because the map belongs to the well-known "Atlas Historique", published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720.

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684 - 1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. He is best known as a Dutch cartographer and more specifically for his cartographic contribution in the seminal seven volume Atlas Historique, published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720. Innovative for its time, the Atlas Historique combined fine engraving and artwork with scholarly studies of geography, history, ethnology, heraldry, and cosmography. Some scholarship suggests that the Atlas Historique was not exclusively compiled by Henri Chatelain, as is commonly believed, but rather was a family enterprise involving Henri, his father Zacharie and his brother, also Zacharie.

Copper engraving, in perfect condition.