16th Century Amsterdam
DESCRIPTION
This finely engraved view of Amsterdam and its environs was published in Siena by Matteo Florimi, one of Italy’s most prolific engravers and print publishers of the early seventeenth century. The map is based closely on the celebrated bird’s-eye view of the city by Frans Hogenberg from the Civitates Orbis Terrarum (1572), which in turn drew upon the earlier woodcut plan by Cornelis Anthonisz, dated 1544. Florimi’s Italian edition is smaller in format and engraved with distinctive linework, demonstrating how widely admired and imitated the Hogenberg composition had become across Europe.
Examining the Map and Verso
Florimi’s version preserves the essential layout of Hogenberg’s Amsterdam, the semi-circular pattern of canals, busy harbor filled with ships, and numerous windmills marking the city’s outskirts, but introduces several modifications. His plate includes a new title device with the Roman numeral “XXX” in the upper right, a legend printed directly along the left margin, and a secondary key listing twenty-four notable buildings in both Dutch and Italian. The verso bears Italian text headed “Descrittione di Amsterdam,” characteristic of Florimi’s Teatro del Mondo series.
Origins of the City, Commerce, and Culture
Archaeological findings reveal that settlements in this area date back to Neolithic times, but the modern city’s name derives from medieval waterworks that sought to tame the Amstel River. The earliest record, from 1275, refers to “Aemstelredamme,” a dam in the river Amstel, depicted prominently at the city’s heart in this view.
Within the fortified perimeter, three principal churches rise above the dense network of canals and gabled houses. The harbor teems with seagoing vessels reflecting Amsterdam’s rapid growth as a maritime power, while in the lower right a grim scene of gallows reminds the viewer of the harsh justice of the era.
This map offers a remarkably detailed portrait of a city soon to be called the “Venice of the North.” Its intricate waterways provided both defense and commercial advantage, linking Amsterdam with the interior of Europe and the open seas. Within decades of this view’s publication, the city would become a preeminent center of trade and finance, home to the Dutch East India Company and the world’s first stock exchange, ushering in its Golden Age.
CONDITION
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