Spoletum urbs spendida...

Plan of the city fortifications, finely executed in ink and watercolour on French paper with a watermark datable to the mid-17th century.

The sheet was part of an 'Album Amicorum', an entirely handwritten collection of plans and views of European cities, sold at auction in Paris in December 2008.  Subsequently, unfortunately, the album was divided into individual sheets, which can now be found in several private collections and occasionally on the antiques market.

The album consisted of a miscellany of engravings and manuscripts, almost all depicting plans of the fortifications of major European cities, with a focus on Italian cities, which, unlike the other manuscript works, are carefully finished with watercolours in green and pink tones.

The manuscripts are all by the same hand, many of them with Latin titles and inscriptions and comments in French. A kind of travel sketchbook executed by an anonymous author with great architectural and military knowledge, probably inspired by a printed cartographic work of the period.

The plans of Italian cities are reminiscent for many elements of the works of Jodocus Hondius Jr. later included in the 'Nova et accurata Italiae Hodiernae descriptio' published in Leiden in 1627.

Excellent state of preservation for this unique document on the city.