Boschini, Marco
1651

Spinalonga Peninsula and Elounda in Crete, Greece

Porto di Spinalonga

DESCRIPTION: Very scarce and attractive copper-plate engraved view of the entire Spinalonga Peninsula and surrounding area on the island of Crete, Greece. Includes the island of Kalydon (shown with a fortress dominating the bay); the island of "Colochita" ( Kolokythas ); and structures in the vicinity of today's villages of Elounda and Plaka. The southern-most of these structures at the bottom of the Bay of Elounda are referred to as "Culata". The view shows a signal fire burning at the headland of Cape Agios Ioannis, overlooking the entire Mirambellos Gulf. Numerous galleys are shown at sea headed to shore, and interestingly none of the galleys are under sail.

By Marco Boschini (1613-1678) from Venice in 1651. Published in Boschini's atlas of 59 engraved views and city plans and 2 maps of Crete at a time when the island of Crete, then a Venetian territory, was under siege from Ottoman forces.

Boschini derived his engravings from the manuscript works of others including Angelo degli Oddi, Francesco Basilicata, and especially Georgio Corner. Although he never visited Crete, Marco Boschini's unique contribution is that his atlas was the first published atlas to focus solely on Crete and it provided information about that embattled island to a thirsty public. (Porfyriou, Heleni. The Cartography of Crete in the First Half of the 17th Century: a Collective Work of a Generation of Engineers, Web: http://ine-notebooks.org/index.php/te/article/viewFile/109/165)

CREATOR: Boschini, Marco

PUBLICATION DATE: 1651

GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Greece

BODY OF WATER: Mediterranean Sea

CONDITION: Very Good. Very fine dark engraving on strong paper. Wide margins. Strong impression; dark ink. Small 1/4" stain in margin away from printed area.

COLORING:

ENGRAVER:

SIZE: 6 " x 8 "

ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 2

PRICE: $450

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