LAFREI, Antonio (1512-1577), School of.
Nizza. M.D.XLIII.AE.V.
Engraving.
Rome or Venice, 1545.
19 1/2" x 22 3/4" sheet.

Exceptional View of Franco-Ottoman Siege of Nice in 1543.

Beautiful engraved view of the Franco-Ottoman Siege of Nice in 1543 ( 2/8 x 15 6/8 inches to the neat line, mounted into 4 separate marginal sheets at an early date 19 4/8 x 22 6/8 inches).

An exceptionally fine and early perspective view of Nice as it was besieged by a Franco-Ottoman force in 1543. The Mediterranean is shown filled with a flotilla of small ships propelled by single sails and oars; the fortress and citadel of Nice fly the Christian flag of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, while fiercely armed troops rally in the Ottoman held church of S. Croce to the left and Villa Fraca to the right, under the command of Heyreddin Barbarossa. The Siege of Nice was a critical part of the Italian War of 1542-1546. Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent created a Franco-Ottoman alliance against the then Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and Henry VIII of England. At that time of the siege Nice was under the control of Charles III, Duke of Savoy. Created by one of the Lafreri school of engravers, who were producing maps and views during "ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND BRILLIANT PERIODS IN THE HISTORY OF CARTOGRAPHY" (Tooley). Between 1540 and 1570 Italy was the center of cartography, and Antonio Lafreri, a major map seller and publisher in Rome was one of the first to issue an atlas of assorted maps with an engraved title page. Tooley (1939) 419.